LOUD published research in Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science on incorporating green space indicators into future urban planning

Shanghai Key Laboratory of Urban Design and Urban Science (LOUD) has published research titled ‘Integrating Green Space Measures into Future Town Planning: A Case Study of Zhejiang’ in the journal Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science.

Figure: The 11 towns in Zhejiang Province studied in the research

Figure: Urban spatial distribution and measurements using Tangqi Town as an example

Figure: Ranking of urban intensity scores for each town: Current status

Figure: Ranking of urban intensity scores for each town: Future projections

Various spatial indices have been widely used by scholars to measure and assess the built environment of towns. However, there is still a gap in systematically analyzing the impact of green space distribution in future urban planning. This paper integrates relevant green space indices into the urban intensity framework, examining the differences between the current status (2018) and future planning scenarios (2030) of eleven towns in Zhejiang Province, China, thereby addressing this research gap. Using ARCGIS and FRAGSTATS to calculate spatial indices and conducting correlation analysis in STATA, the study also employs population, economic, and environmental indicators to validate the reliability of the selected urban intensity indices. The research reveals: (1) future planning scenarios may lead to a reduction in green space or uneven green space distribution in town centers; (2) green space indices show a significant correlation with the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), indicating that the selected spatial indices effectively reflect actual green space conditions; and (3) the current detailed control plans for the selected towns may not necessarily improve their future spatial layouts, especially considering the increased focus on urban green spaces. These findings emphasize that, rather than simply increasing green space area, the appropriate spatial arrangement of green space is crucial and effective. Therefore, optimizing urban intensity requires a balanced planning of built spaces and green space distribution. Finally, this study demonstrates that the integration of green space indices can significantly enhance the reliability of the urban intensity framework, particularly in relation to the increasingly important goals of urban sustainability and health-oriented urban planning.

Dr. Wang Yuanzhao, the author of the paper, states that the findings of this research hold significant implications for the future of urban planning in China, providing direction on how to optimize urban spatial layouts through improved detailed control planning. Additionally, the study reveals the impact of green space on urban intensity and examines the related indicators that influence this relationship. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating green space as a critical element in urban planning research and adopting a more comprehensive urban quantification framework to achieve an ideal spatial layout. He believes that the challenge of balancing built land and green space to enhance residents' well-being and promote urban environmental sustainability is not limited to China, as towns worldwide are facing similar issues. The approach of integrating green space attributes as an essential factor in the urban intensity quantification framework emphasized in this research can provide valuable guidance for planners and policymakers in achieving more desirable spatial layouts. Therefore, the findings of this study have important implications for international urban planning practice, offering valuable lessons and insights for urban planning in various contexts.

Dr. Wang Yuanzhao joined the LOUD in 2019 and later enrolled in the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he earned his master's degree. He is currently pursuing his PhD at UCL. Dr. Wang indicated that future research will incorporate the personal perspectives of residents and visitors to study the appeal of urban green spaces, aiming to validate the reliability of the green space indicators used in the framework. This will involve utilizing social media data, measuring urban environments at a finer scale (from a human perspective), and employing qualitative research methods to enhance the effectiveness of the urban intensity framework in addressing urban issues such as sustainability and human-centered urban planning.

This paper is part of the laboratory's series of research on the planning and development of towns in Zhejiang Province and the impact of green space on urban intensity. Previous related articles include ‘Does Local Planning of Fast-Growing Medium-Sized Towns Lead to Higher Urban Intensity or to Sprawl? Cases from Zhejiang Province’ and ‘The Concept of Urban Intensity and China's Townization Policy: Cases from Zhejiang Province’.

Paper Link:

Wang, Y., Guan, C. (2024). Integrating green space measures into future town planning: A case study of Zhejiang. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science https://doi.org/10.1177/23998083241274913