Geosystem Properties and Services in Global South Cities: Examples of São Paulo and Johannesburg

Jasper Knight (), Maria da Glória Garcia and Christine Bourotte
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Jasper Knight: School of Geography, Archaeology & Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
Maria da Glória Garcia: Institute of Geosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-080, Brazil
Christine Bourotte: Institute of Geosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-080, Brazil

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-19

Abstract: Geosystem services are increasingly recognized as critical for the sustainable development of rapidly growing cities in the Global South, because of their association with improved public health, reduction in environmental pollution, microclimate effects, and the ecological goods and services that provide benefits to local people. However, maintaining urban green spaces is a particular issue in cities in the Global South, such as São Paulo (Brazil) and Johannesburg (South Africa), where rapid inward migration and poor urban planning result in low environmental quality and the deterioration of geosystem services. This study explores the geosystem (including environmental and ecosystem) services provided in protected green spaces in these two cities, using the specific examples of Parque Estadual da Cantareira (São Paulo) and Melville Koppies (Johannesburg). This study uses an inventory-based approach to list and critically explore the availability and properties of different geosystem services found in these sites, and their wider implications for environmental planning and sustainable urban development. The results show that, although superficially similar, these sites have very different geosystem services, and that a simple inventorizing approach for geodiversity and geosystem service provision as used in many previous studies is highly problematic and over-simplifies site-scale geological and environmental properties, and how these are used and valued by local people. A more integrated approach dealing with the interplay of geosystem, environmental, and ecosystem services can provide a much firmer basis for urban planning and management in the Global South, suitable for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Keywords: environmental services; ecosystem services; geodiversity; geosystems; global south; sustainable development goals; urban landscape (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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