Assessing Relativeness in the Provision of Urban Ecosystem Services: Better Comparison Methods for Improved Well-Being

Goran Krsnik (), Sonia Reyes-Paecke, Keith M. Reynolds, Jordi Garcia-Gonzalo and José Ramón González Olabarria
Additional contact information
Goran Krsnik: Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), Ctra Sant Llorenç de Morunys, km 2, 25280 Solsona, Spain
Sonia Reyes-Paecke: Departamento de Ecosistemas y Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna, Santiago 4860, Chile
Keith M. Reynolds: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Research, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Jordi Garcia-Gonzalo: Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), Ctra Sant Llorenç de Morunys, km 2, 25280 Solsona, Spain
José Ramón González Olabarria: Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), Ctra Sant Llorenç de Morunys, km 2, 25280 Solsona, Spain

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: In this study, we evaluated alternative methods for comparing the provision of ecosystem services among urban areas, stressing how the choice of comparison method affects the ability to compare the ecosystem service outcomes, in order to improve the management actions in urban green areas, reduce environmental inequality, and ensure satisfactory levels of human well-being. For the analysis, ten spatial indicators were quantified to assess the provision of urban ecosystem services in Barcelona, Spain, and Santiago, Chile. Two comparison methods were applied in both cities to evaluate the differences in their provision scores. The analysis was performed using the Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS) system, a spatially enabled decision support framework for environmental management. The results depicted changes in the values of the provision of ecosystem services depending on the methodological approach applied. When the data were analysed separately for each city, both cities registered a wide range of provision values across the city districts, varying from very low to very high values. However, when the analysis was based on the data for both cities, the provision scores in Santiago decreased, while they increased in Barcelona, showing relativeness and a discrepancy in their provisions, hindering an appropriate planning definition. Our results emphasise the importance of the choice of comparison approach in the analyses of urban ecosystem services and the need for further studies on these comparison methods.

Keywords: urban ecosystem services; spatial modelling; urban green infrastructure; human well-being; urban planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:5:p:1088-:d:1150226

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