A multi-criteria analytical method to assess ecosystem services at urban site level, exemplified by two German city districts

P. Brzoska, K. Grunewald and O. Bastian

Ecosystem Services, 2021, vol. 49, issue C

Abstract: Urban green spaces and their ecosystem services (ES) are vital for the well-being and quality of life of growing urban populations. The concept of ES is a useful aid to urban planners and a major factor in the development of city districts in which local people have access to urban greenery and their services. Here we present a transferable method to map and assess the capacity of ecosystems to deliver urban ES, exemplified for two German city districts. Based on multi-criteria decision making (MCDM), this method was developed in cooperation with the environmental agencies of the investigated cities and incorporates site‐specific data from field mapping. The results are given in the form of a spatial distribution of the delimitated ecosystem types and their capacities to provide three exemplary ES (‘bioclimatic regulation’, ‘nature experience’, and ‘passive recreation’). Generated maps show areas deficient in ES, which can then be used for spatial prioritization of development measures. In addition, it is possible to estimate and visualize the potential impact that specific measures will have on ES provision. The many advantages of this approach include its general flexibility and the generation of precise location-specific data. Furthermore, it can contribute to a value-based communication aimed at fostering the preservation of urban green spaces.

Keywords: Ecosystem service capacity; Site scale; Mapping; MCDM; Multi-criteria analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212041621000267
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecoser:v:49:y:2021:i:c:s2212041621000267

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2021.101268

Access Statistics for this article

Ecosystem Services is currently edited by Leon C Braat

More articles in Ecosystem Services from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().