Natural systems within and next to built areas
thesubject. Built areas have big effects on natural areas, and vice versa. Yet, the
negative effects are very different from the positive effects.
At the core ofthischapter are patterns and results from the spatial analy-
ses and comparisons of the 38 urban regions, as described at the beginning of
thepreceding chapter. Forty-one major patterns or results highlighted here are
presented under ‘‘built systems” as S1, S2, S3, etc., ‘‘built areas” as A1, etc., and
‘‘ whole regions” as R1, etc. Brief elaborations under each result may: (1) interpret
or further discuss it; (2) identify its implications ecologically or for society; and
(3) point out useful approaches or solutions for land protection, planning, and
other objectives. Some solutions are labeledpriorityand somehigh priority,rela-
tive to the total set of patterns presented in Chapters6 and7.Graphshighlight
variability and contrast (compare the four quadrants) as well as central trend.
Natural systems within and next to built areas
Greenspaces within built areas are introduced at the outset. This leads
toakeysubject, the effects of proximity of built and natural areas.
Built areas
Greenspaces in built areas are particularly significant for recreation,
inspiration and the general well-being of residents. For instance, biophilic design
specialists point out the value of nature, or even a tree, to improving recovery
ratesofhospital patients, reducing illness, and so forth (Kellert and Wilson
1993,Kellert2005).Because people are so diverse in a city, designing diverse
recreation opportunities is a challenge. A particular park could have numerous
types of recreation resources, or each park could provide a different resource
(Chapter1). Also, distributing the resources appropriately in parks across the
city is difficult. Some compromise is typical, which often results both from
responding to influential pressure groups and from an overall logical plan.
But greenspaces in a city provide many other benefits to society, especially for
natural systems. Large or medium-large spaces, such as Berlin’s Tiergarten, New
York’s Central Park, and Tokyo’s palace grounds, may contain a good facsimile
of natural ecosystems of considerable educational value for residents hemmed
in by buildings. Reasonable biodiversity may be present, such as rare meadow
plants in Tiergarten (Caroline Chen, personal communication). These relatively
large greenspaces therefore serve as important sources of species that spread to
small parks, gardens, and other greenspace areas across the city, keeping them
somewhat species-rich.
The question of how to design the city’s parks for diverse recreation applies
also to nature. Should each greenspace be a fair representative of a different nat-
ural community, or should each green area have a similar mix of many natural