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

Florian Reinwald, Daniela Haluza, Ulrike Pitha and Rosemarie Stangl
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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

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-9

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.

Keywords: urban green infrastructure; social fairness; COVID-19 crisis; public health; climate changes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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