Urban Green Spaces Distribution and Disparities in Congested Populated Areas: A Geographical Assessment from Pakistan

Muhammad Mushahid Anwar, Muhammad Hashim, Asad Aziz (), Alice Stocco, Hazem Ghassan Abdo, Hussein Almohamad, Ahmed Abdullah Al Dughairi and Motrih Al-Mutiry
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Muhammad Mushahid Anwar: Department of Geography, Hafiz Hayat Campus, University of Gujrat, Gujrat 50700, Pakistan
Muhammad Hashim: Department of Geography, Hafiz Hayat Campus, University of Gujrat, Gujrat 50700, Pakistan
Asad Aziz: Department of Geography, Hafiz Hayat Campus, University of Gujrat, Gujrat 50700, Pakistan
Alice Stocco: Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics Department, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 30170 Venice, Italy
Hazem Ghassan Abdo: Geography Department, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Tartous University, Tartous P.O. Box 2147, Syria
Hussein Almohamad: Department of Geography, College of Arabic Language and Social Studies, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed Abdullah Al Dughairi: Department of Geography, College of Arabic Language and Social Studies, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia
Motrih Al-Mutiry: Department of Geography, College of Arts, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 10, 1-12

Abstract: Urban green spaces are considered the most important element for keeping the balance between good environmental conditions, infrastructure development, and social sustainability in cities. Nevertheless, urban green spaces are declining in developing countries due to the fast diffusion of different human activities, raising the potential risk of social injustice and urban ecology meltdown. This study brings the example of Shahdara Town, a suburban area of Lahore, the second largest city and one of the most populated ones in Pakistan. In Shahdara Town, the scarcity of urban green spaces seems to achieve an unequal distribution of restorative places within crowded residential areas. By coupling the vegetation spectral index NDVI and Lahore institutional data to detect green spaces, this study maps the urban green area distribution and compares it with the population settlement pattern. An analysis was made to assess possible spatial relationships between green areas distribution, population density, and the social–economic profile of the residents. The distribution and accessibility of green spaces resulted insufficient for Shahdara Town’s population, highlighting local issues from a social perspective. The imbalanced provision of green spaces for densely populated areas is a big challenge for urban planners and policymakers because it jeopardizes the city life-quality and local ecological justice. Only the effort of conducting a good spatial assessment during urban planning processes can lead to a balanced and equal distribution of urban green spaces in developing cities, ensuring social and ecological justice for the population.

Keywords: ecological justice; equity; geographic distribution; GIS; green spaces; populated areas; urban environment; urban planning; urban greenness; policy support (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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