Quantitative evaluation of distribution and accessibility ...Ragab Khalil International Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences Volume 4 Issue 3, 2014 527 green space had lower odds of

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOMATICS AND GEOSCIENCES

Volume 4, No 3, 2014

© Copyright 2014 All rights reserved Integrated Publishing services

Research article ISSN 0976 – 4380

Submitted on December 2013 published on March 2014 526

Quantitative evaluation of distribution and accessibility of urban green

spaces (Case study: City of Jeddah) Ragab Khalil1,2

1-Civil Engineering Department., Faculty of Engineering, Assiut University, Assiut,

Egypt

2- Landscape Architecture Dept., Faculty of Environmental Design, KAU, Saudi Arabia

[email protected]

ABSTRACT

Urban green spaces are quite significant in reducing negative effects of urbanization. They

are viewed as the green lung of the city, and typically perform important functions, including

absorbing rainwater and pollutants, and mitigating urban heat. Urban green spaces can also

provide considerable socioeconomic benefits, such reducing work-related stress, and

increasing property values. Green space is becoming an important measure in judging the

ecological sustainability of urban areas. Planners and designers need efficient tools to

quantitatively evaluate and compare the impact of alternative plans and designs so that more

informed development choices could be made. This study presents an evaluation of spatial

equity in distribution of green spaces in Jeddah city using Geographic Information System

(GIS). GIS analysis is used to study the spatial distribution of needs and accessibility. The

results of this study show that the average green space per capita is 0.9 m2 and more that 70%

of population have to walk distance exceed 500 m to reach green space. In order to reach

green space equal to 30 m2 per capita which is the standard of united nation it’s needed to

meet lack of urban green space about 93,808,406 m2 in Jeddah city.

Keywords: Urban green spaces; accessibility; per capita; GIS analysis.

1. Introduction

Green spaces and parks are of great importance both for ecological balance and for the health

of individuals (Al-Ballaa et al 2010; Paquet et al 2013). They are quite significant in reducing

negative effects of urbanization and increase physical activity of people (Hillsdon et al 2006;

Mytton et al 2012). Urban green spaces are viewed as the green lung of the city, and typically

perform important functions, including absorbing rainwater and pollutants, and mitigating

urban heat. They can also provide considerable socioeconomic benefits, such socializing and

rest and restitution (Peschardt et al 2012; Rahnama and Akbari 2013), and increasing

property values (lin et al 2013). Green space is becoming an important measure in judging the

environmental quality and ecological sustainability of urban areas (Gupta et al 2012). Laghai

and Bahmanpour (2012) summarized more than 30 function and services of urban green

spaces.

Proximity to the green space affects the purpose and frequency of visiting the place. The

social role of green spaces is affected by its optimal distribution (Chiari and Seeland 2004).

The European Environment Agency (EEA) recommends that people should have access to

green space within 15 min walking distance, while English Nature (EN), a UK government

agency, recommends that distance to green space should not exceed 300m from home

(Barbosa et al 2007). Toftager et al (2011) found that persons living more than 1 km from

Quantitative Evaluation of Distribution and Accessibility of Urban Green Spaces (Case study: City of

Jeddah)

Ragab Khalil

International Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences

Volume 4 Issue 3, 2014 527

green space had lower odds of using green space to exercise and keep in shape compared

with persons living closer than 300 m to green space. One of the green city index indicators is

per capita space. Decreasing in per capita urban green space causes a decrease in daily

exposure to more natural environments (Barton and Pretty, 2010). Lower exposure to natural

environments is associated with a number of lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes II,

osteoporosis and stress-related illnesses such as depression, heart diseases and mental fatigue

(Ulrich, 2006; Mitchell and Popham, 2008). The aim of this study is to evaluate the equity of

the distribution of public green spaces and their accessibility using GIS analysis and to figure

out if the amount of green space in Jeddah matches the international standards.

2. Study area and data

Jeddah is a city in the Hijaz region on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center

of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the

Red Sea, the second-largest city and an important commercial hub in Saudi Arabia. It is

located between (21° 15′ N, 21° 50′ N) and (39° 5′ E, 39° 20′ E) as shown in figure (1). It has

a population of 3430697 according to (Central Department of Statistics & Information 2010).

The data used in this study was collected from Jeddah Municipality. It contains Road,

Districts and Urban green space layers and districts population statistical data. The total

number of Jeddah population according to 2010 statistics was gotten from the Central

Department of Statistics and Information web page.

Figure 1: The location of study area

3. Methodology

In the analysis of the distribution of green spaces in Jeddah, the next steps were followed:


Jeddah)

Ragab Khalil



1. Data collection – consulting specific literature, connecting Jeddah Municipality

for getting districts, urban green spaces (some districts), roads and population

statistical data;

2. Database creation – districts population data Excel sheet was prepared to be linked

to the districts layer. The district names were verified to match that of the districts

layer. Digitization of green spaces based on Bing map online available with

ArcGIS 10 software;

3. Data processing – using GIS models and techniques completed by statistical

analysis;

4. Interpretation of the results – obtaining graphs and cartographic materials using

GIS techniques.

The following indices have been used for the assessment of the distribution of green spaces:

1. Green space per capita (m2), the results of Jeddah was compared to the

international standards such as United Nations (30 m2 per capita) (Laghai and

Bahmanpour 2012), European Union standards (26 m2 per capita) (Vlad and

Brătăşanu 2011), public health bureau and the ministry of housing of the united

states of America (18 m2 per capita) (Laghai and Bahmanpour 2012) and World

Health Organization standards (9 m2 per capita) (Saz.S.D and Rausell P. 2008).

2. accessibility to green spaces, measured by the percentage of the total population

of the districts living in less than 300 m, 500 m and 15 minutes walking distance (

≈1000 m) from urban green areas.

4. Data processing and results

Jeddah has 119 districts according to the Municipality new divisions, 72 of them have

population data. The population data was for year 2002 with expectations for year 2014. The

expected population was used in this study and was shown in figure (2) after excluding

airport, seaport, naval base and the university campus. The percentage of green spaces to

each district area was calculated and presented graphically in figure (3). Table (1)

summarizes the percentage of green spaces related to the districts area. From figure (3) and

table (1), it is clear that almost half of Jeddah districts have green space less than 0.1% of

district area. Only 10% of districts have green spaces equal to 5% to 8% of its area. In order

to get the information of green space per capita in Jeddah city the discussed layers including

population size and amount of green space have been overlaid and shown in figure (4). The

average green space per capita in Jeddah was calculated and found to be 0.9 m2.

A comparison of Jeddah average per capita to the existing standards is shown in figure (5)

which illustrates the great difference between Jeddah green space and the international

standards. Jeddah municipality has to increase the amount of green spaces at least 10 times

the existing situation to reach the minimum amount of standards. Based on existing data

from public census expectations of population in year 2014 and the statistics of green space

area in Districts of Jeddah city in the same year, the green space per capita has been

calculated and the outcome was compared with the international standards as shown in table

(2). Figure (6) shows the shortage in green spaces based on the world health organization

standards.


Jeddah)

Ragab Khalil



Figure 2: Distribution of population in districts of Jeddah

Figure 3: Percentage of green spaces in districts of Jeddah


Jeddah)

Ragab Khalil



Table 1: Percentage of green spaces in districts of Jeddah

% Green space No. of districts % of Jeddah districts

< 0.1% 33 47.6

1% 23 35.2

2% 6 6.6

5% 8 10.2

8% 2 0.5

Figure 4: Green spaces per capita (m2) in districts of Jeddah

Figure 5: Comparison of Jeddah green space per capita with existing standards


Jeddah)

Ragab Khalil



Figure 6: The shortage in Jeddah green space based on 9 m2/capita standards.

Table 2: Comparison of Jeddah green space per capita with existing standards

Existing standards Descriptions Shortages (m2)

World Health Organization

standards: 9 m2/capita

In this situation only (AL ANDULUS, AL

AMEER FAWAZ AL SHAMALY and AL

AMEER FAWAZ ALJANOUBY) Districts

satisfy the standards and rest of the Districts

has shortage.

26,413,151 m2

(10 times the

existing)

Public health bureau and the

ministry of housing of the

USA: 18 m2/capita

In this situation only (AL ANDULUS)

District satisfies the standards and rest of

the Districts has shortage.

55,178,699 m2

(20 times the

existing)

European Union

standards:26 m2/capita

In this situation all Districts have shortage. 80,913,294 m2

(29 times the

existing)

United Nations standards:30

m2/capita

In this situation all Districts have shortage. 93,808,406 m2

(33 times the

existing)

Accessibility is measured by the walking distance to the green space. The 15 minutes walking

distance (≈1000 m) recommended by European Environment Agency (EEA) seems to be

long distance in Jeddah weather conditions, while 300 m walking distance recommended by

English Nature (EN) is appropriate. Buffer distances of 300, 500 and 1000 m are shown in

figure (7). The covered area by each buffer zone was calculated and the percentage of

residential area that can access to the green space is shown in figure (8). It can be seen in

figure (8) that only 15% of residential area is located less than 300 m away from the nearest

green space, while 27% are situated from the nearest green space at a distance of 500 m and

54% of residential area fall within 1 km of the nearest green space. The percentage of each


Jeddah)

Ragab Khalil



district area fall within 500 walking distance is represented in figure (9). From which it was

found that only 7 districts which represent 10% of the study area have 70% of each area fall

within 500 m to the green spaces.

Figure 7: Accessibility to green spaces in districts of Jeddah

Figure 8: The percentage of residential areas by the accessibility to green spaces


Jeddah)

Ragab Khalil



Figure 9: Percentage of 500 m accessibility in districts of Jeddah

5. Conclusions

Green space areas in the densely populated cities of today are valued more than before while

at the same time are suffering shrinkage due to pressures for more lands for housing

development. ArcGIS was used to analyze the distribution and accessibility of green spaces

in Jeddah. From the results of analyzing the spatial distribution of green spaces the

followings could be concluded:

1. More than 80% of Jeddah districts have green spaces of less than 1% of its area.

2. Only 10% of districts have green spaces of 5 to 8% of its area.

3. The average green space per capita is 0.9 m2 which is far away below the minimum

standards.

4. It's needed to establish green space with the area of 26,413,151 m2 which is 10 times

the existing green area to fulfill the World Health Organization standards.

5. To reach the United Nations standards, it's needed to establish green space with the

area of 93,808,406 m2 which is 33 times the existing green area.

6. More than 85% of Jeddah population has to walk distance longer than 300 m to reach

the nearest green space.

7. More than 70% of Jeddah population has to walk distance longer than 500 m to reach

the nearest green space.

8. Only 3 districts in Jeddah that 95% of their populations live within 500 m of green

space.

9. Districts with high need for green spaces and low levels of accessibility are

emphasized as critical areas that public decision makers need to focus on.


Jeddah)

Ragab Khalil



6. References

1. Al-Ballaa, H., Comber, A. and Smith, C., (2012), Distribution Pattern Analysis of

Green space in Al-Madinah Using GIS, GIS Research UK 20th Annual Conference,

2, 11-13th April 2012, Lancaster, pp 161-169.

2. Barbosa, O., Tratalos, J., Armsworth, P., Davies, R., Fuller, R., Johnson, P. and

Gaston, K., (2007), Who benefits from access to green space? A case study from

Sheffield, UK, Landscape and Urban Planning, 83, pp 187–195.

3. Barton, J., Pretty, J., (2010), What is the best dose of nature and green exercise for

improving mental health? A multi-study analysis, Environmental Science &

Technology 44, pp 3947–3955.

4. Central Department of Statistics & Information, (2014), available at

http://www.cdsi.gov.sa/english/, accessed on 5th January 2014.

5. Chiari, C. and Seeland, K., (2004), Are urban green spaces optimally distributed to

act as places for social integration? Results of a geographical information system

(GIS) approach for urban forestry research, Forest Policy and Economics, 6, pp 3-

13.

6. Gupta, K., Kumar, P., Pathan,S. and Sharma, K., (2012), Urban Neighborhood

Green Index – A measure of green spaces in urban areas, Landscape and Urban

Planning, 105, pp 325–335.

7. Hillsdon M, Panter J, Foster C, Jones A., (2006), The relationship between access

and quality of urban green space with population physical activity, Public health,

120, pp 1127–1132.

8. Laghai, H. and Bahmanpour, H. (2012), GIS Application in Urban Green space Per

Capita Evaluation, Annals of Biological Research, 3(5), pp 2439-2446.

9. Lin, I., Wu, C. and De Sousa, C., (2013), Examining the economic impact of park

facilities on neighboring residential property values, Applied Geography, 45, pp

322–331.

10. Mitchell, R., Popham, F., (2008), Effect of exposure to natural environment on

health inequalities: an observational population study, The Lancet, 37(2), pp 1655–

1660.

11. Mytton, O., Townsend, N., Rutter, H. and Foster, C., (2012), Green space and

physical activity: An observational study using Health Survey for England data,

Health Place, 18(5), pp 1034–1041.

12. Paquet, C., Orschulok, T., Coffee, N., Howard, N., Hugo, G., Taylor, A., Adams, R.

and Daniel, M., (2013), Are accessibility and characteristics of public open spaces


Jeddah)

Ragab Khalil



associated with a better cardiometabolic health? Landscape and Urban Planning,

118, pp 70-78.

13. Peschardt, K., Schipperijn, J. and Stigsdotter, U., (2012), Use of Small Public Urban

Green Spaces (SPUGS), Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 11, pp 235– 244.

14. Rahnama, M. and Akbari, M., (2013), Analysis the principles and Dimensions of

Urban Parks with point on green spaces in Mashhad city, Iran, American Journal of

Engineering Research , 2(12), pp 136-143.

15. Saz S. D. and Rausell P., (2008), A Double-Hurdle model of urban green areas

valuation: Dealing with zero responses, Landscape and Urban Planning, 84, pp 241–

251.

16. Toftager, M, Ekholm, O, Schipperijn, J, Stigsdotter, U, Bentsen, P, Grønbæk, M,

Randrup, TB and Kamper-Jørgensen, F., (2011), Distance to green space and

physical activity: a Danish national representative survey, Journal of Physical

Activity and Health, 8(6), pp741-749.

17. Ulrich, R.S., (2006), Evidence-based health care architecture, Lancet, 368, pp S38–

S39.

18. Vlad, M. I. and Brătăşanu, D., (2011), Quality of life assessment based on spatial

and temporal analysis of the vegetation area derived from satellite images,

Romanian review of regional studies, 7(2), pp 111-120.

Documents

Quantitative evaluation of distribution and accessibility ...Ragab Khalil International Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences Volume 4 Issue 3, 2014 527 green space had lower odds of