The provision of urban green space and its accessibility: Spatial data effects in Brussels

in PLoS ONE (2018), 13(10), 0204684

Urban green space (UGS) has many environmental and social benefits. UGS provision and access are increasingly considered in urban policies and must rely on data and indicators that can capture variations ... [more ▼]

Urban green space (UGS) has many environmental and social benefits. UGS provision and access are increasingly considered in urban policies and must rely on data and indicators that can capture variations in the distribution of UGS within cities. There is no consensus about how UGS, and their provision and access, must be defined from different land use data types. Here we identify four spatial dimensions of UGS and critically examine how different data sources affect these dimensions and our understanding of their variation within a city region (Brussels). We compare UGS indicators measured from an imagery source (NDVI from Landsat), an official cadastre-based map, and the voluntary geographical information provided by OpenStreetMap (OSM). We compare aggregate values of provision and access to UGS as well as their spatial distribution along a centrality gradient and at neighbourhood scale. We find that there are strong differences in the value of indicators when using the different datasets, especially due to their ability to capture private and public green space. However we find that the interpretation of intra-urban spatial variations is not affected by changes in data source. Centrality in particular is a strong determinant of the relative values of UGS availability, fragmentation and accessibility, irrespective of datasets. [less ▲]

Locational and socio-economic sorting in the use of green space: Evidence from Brussels

Scientific Conference (2017, April 08)

Urban green space is important for making cities sustainable. It provides environmental benefits and makes cities attractive to people. Extensive evidence exists on their benefits but is lacking in ... [more ▼]

Urban green space is important for making cities sustainable. It provides environmental benefits and makes cities attractive to people. Extensive evidence exists on their benefits but is lacking in quantifying how and whether socio-economic benefits of green space accrue to all households or only a portion depending on their socio-economic status and residential location. From urban economic theory we know that residential markets sort households by income along an urban–suburban continuum and the housing-transport-costs trade-off. This trade-off can however be dominated in the presence of exogenous central amenities (parks) or endogenous effects (high income attracting high income) and pull better-off households toward the center, adding discrepancies in accessibility to green amenities by different socio-economic groups. Tiebout's hypothesis implied that marginal benefits from localised amenities are the same for all households in a given location but empirics point to non-efficient sorting and endogenous effects (socio-economic sorting) in the demand for localised amenities in general. We address these questions based on results of a survey conducted along an urban-suburban continuum in Brussels (Belgium) in May 2016. The survey includes around 500 respondents sampled across (non-park) public space and malls to reach both users and non-users of green space and cover the variety of residential locations (good or bad provision of green / distant or far from the CBD). We analyse the role of proximity, size and quality of public green space on its use across different socio-economic attributes and residential/job places and stated willingness-to-pay and substitution possibilities with private green space. [less ▲]

Assessing geographical effects in spatial diffusion processes: The case of euro coins

in Computers, Environment and Urban Systems (2017), 61

We examine how geographical structures impact diffusion processes within a regional system. From the example of euro coin diffusion across countries, we show how the relative position and population ... [more ▼]

We examine how geographical structures impact diffusion processes within a regional system. From the example of euro coin diffusion across countries, we show how the relative position and population endowment of regions impact our understanding of interregional mobility, beyond simple spatial interaction effects. The mix of coins of different origins is a complex but unique trace of the movement of individuals within a common currency area, potentially revealing a new facet of European integration. We simulate an individual-based dynamic model where agents move and exchange coins across regions. We analyse the convergence towards a homogeneous mix of coins through time for a series of different theoretical spatial systems. This sensitivity analysis demonstrates the impact of the regularity and aggregation levels, or centrality/periphery effects, on spatial diffusion dynamics. We then calibrate the model against empirical data for the regions of 5 European countries and provide estimates of mobility rates, distance decay and population attractiveness factors, affecting the diffusion of coins, hence international movements and European integration. [less ▲]

Exploring EU Territorial Cohesion with Self-Organising Maps (SOM)

Scientific Conference (2009)