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Urban Green Infrastructure and Green Open Spaces: An Issue of Social Fairness in Times of COVID-19 Crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Florian Reinwald

    (Institute of Landscape Planning, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Peter-Jordan-Straße 65, 1180 Vienna, Austria)

  • Daniela Haluza

    (Center for Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090 Vienna, Austria)

  • Ulrike Pitha

    (Institute of Soil Bioengineering and Landscape Construction, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria)

  • Rosemarie Stangl

    (Institute of Soil Bioengineering and Landscape Construction, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria)

Abstract

At the time of the restrictions and lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, it became apparent how difficult it is for city dwellers to adhere to the prescribed behavioural measures and the protective distance in densely built urban areas. Inner-city parks and green spaces were heavily used for recreational purposes and were thus periodically overcrowded. These observations highlight the need for green open spaces in urban areas, especially in exceptional situations regarding pandemics and climate-related heat periods. Green open spaces and greened buildings help cities and the population cope with the consequences of climate change and have a decisive positive effect on human health and well-being. This paper aims to outline which social issues are related to the availability of green infrastructure close to home and which health consequences need to be considered. The COVID-19 challenges could offer a chance and an opportunity to increase the resilience of cities and their inhabitants in various terms. A cross-disciplinary team of authors (public health, urban and landscape planning, landscaping and vegetation technologies science) describes and discusses challenges and opportunities that arise from this crisis for cities from an inter-disciplinary perspective, concluding that urban green infrastructure helps in two ways: to adapt to climate change and the challenges posed by COVID-19.

Suggested Citation

  • Florian Reinwald & Daniela Haluza & Ulrike Pitha & Rosemarie Stangl, 2021. "Urban Green Infrastructure and Green Open Spaces: An Issue of Social Fairness in Times of COVID-19 Crisis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-9, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:19:p:10606-:d:642320
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Leo Capari & Harald Wilfing & Andreas Exner & Thomas Höflehner & Daniela Haluza, 2022. "Cooling the City? A Scientometric Study on Urban Green and Blue Infrastructure and Climate Change-Induced Public Health Effects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-19, April.
    2. Dimitrios Kalfas & Fotios Chatzitheodoridis & Efstratios Loizou & Katerina Melfou, 2022. "Willingness to Pay for Urban and Suburban Green," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-21, February.
    3. Sophie Kathrin Schaffernicht & Andreas Türk & Martha Kogler & Andreas Berger & Bernhard Scharf & Lukas Clementschitsch & Renate Hammer & Peter Holzer & Herbert Formayer & Barbara König & Daniela Haluz, 2023. "Heat vs. Health: Home Office under a Changing Climate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-24, April.
    4. David Jungwirth & Chiara Amelie Weninger & Daniela Haluza, 2021. "Fitness and the Crisis: Impacts of COVID-19 on Active Living and Life Satisfaction in Austria," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-13, December.
    5. David Jungwirth & Daniela Haluza, 2023. "Sports and the Pandemic: The Impact of COVID-19 on Active Living and Life Satisfaction of Climbers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-12, January.
    6. Agnieszka Mandziuk & Dagmara Stangierska & Beata Fornal-Pieniak & Jerzy Gębski & Barbara Żarska & Marta Kiraga, 2022. "Preferences of Young Adults concerning the Pocket Parks with Water Reservoirs in the Aspect of Willingness to Pay (WTP) in Warsaw City, Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-13, April.
    7. David Frantz & Franz Schug & Dominik Wiedenhofer & André Baumgart & Doris Virág & Sam Cooper & Camila Gómez-Medina & Fabian Lehmann & Thomas Udelhoven & Sebastian Linden & Patrick Hostert & Helmut Hab, 2023. "Unveiling patterns in human dominated landscapes through mapping the mass of US built structures," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.

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