Assessing Urban Green Corridors' Ecosystem Services: A Comparative Case Study Approach

Rüber, Kara Teresa

4. Term

Urban, Energy and Environmental Planning, Master

2025

2025-05-28

100 pages

Cities face critical challenges related to climate change and urbanization, including the urban heat island effect, increased flood risk, air pollution, and biodiversity loss, all impacting residents and the environment. Growing urban populations intensify the need to balance multiple societal demands, including recreational, environmental, and infrastructural demands, all within finite spaces. Ensuring the provision of ecosystem services, as benefits derived from ecosystems, is therefore crucial to environmental health and human well-being. Urban green corridors (UGCs) aim to accommodate multiple societal demands simultaneously. This thesis analyzes the potential of UGCs to accommodate diverse interests, highlighting emerging conflicts and trade-offs. The main research question examines the contribution of UGCs to sustainable urban environments through the provision of ecosystem services. A mixed methodology including qualitative and quantitative methods are applied. Five UGCs are analyzed as case studies through an ecosystem service assessment. With urban residents directly impacted by UGCs and their ecosystem services, the role of the local community is analyzed. The key findings indicate that the UGCs vary in their potential supply of ecosystem services due to their unique characteristics. Tree cover has a great potential to supply ecosystem services such as local climate regulation, air quality regulation, flood protection, pollination and the provision of recreational values that promote the use of UGCs such as for active mobility. The supply of ecosystem services depends on land cover type and site condition, emphasizing the need for site-specific research. Some of the UGCs provide educational opportunities and include urban gardens that encourage environmental stewardship and social interaction. Local communities play a crucial role, as some of the UGCs were initiated by grassroot efforts and are partially managed by community members. However, long-term management faces challenges, such as limited financial resources, expertise, and stakeholder collaboration. Although balancing infrastructure and ecology is essential, infrastructure is being prioritized, resulting in critical ecological impacts. Achieving a balance between ecological and societal needs remains challenging due to conflicting interests. Additionally, excessive use of UGCs and the public's critical perception of nature result in disruptions to biodiversity. Large-scale green infrastructure projects such as UGCs catalyze economic development, which can lead to displacement of residents due to rising property values. To ensure the long-term success and enhance ecosystem service supply of UGCs, community participation and transdisciplinary collaboration are essential. UGCs can serve as multifunctional spaces that address societal needs by providing ecosystem services and other benefits, such as connectivity and supporting social interaction and active mobility. However, further site-specific research is needed to enhance the supply of urban ecosystem services and ensure their provision in the face of growing urban pressures.

Climate Change ; Urbanization ; Urban green corridors ; Ecosystem services ; Sustainable urban environment ; Urban livability

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