Built areas 179Largest greenspace within metropolitan area (km^2 )Proportion of a metropolitan area constituted by its largestgreenspace (%)(^01)
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
491625 74
Rom+
Ber+
Sap+
Bam+
Buc+ Bra+
Phi+
Chi+
Sto+
Kau+
Sdt+
Rah• Iqu•
Abe•
Sam•
Cut•
Erz• Ula•
Kag•
Nan•
Atl•
Ott•
Teg•
Edm•
Eas•
Te h Lon
San
Ban
Bei Mos
Por•
Seo
Bar+ Mex
Nai+
Can•
Figure 7.8Proportion of metropolitan area constituted by its largest greenspace
relative to area of the largest greenspace. Note that the horizontal axis changes
with the square of a number. 1 km^2 = 0.39 mi^2. See Table5.1forarea of metro area.
See Figure 7.2 caption.
Creating a large greenspace, such as converting an aging industrial area to a
large park, requires commitment to a long-term plan. Alternatively, a cluster of
smaller greenspaces might be partially linked and enhanced to provide some of
the benefits mentioned.
[A3]Small cities, especially in developing nations, generally have only small greenspaces,
which, however, are the largest greenspaces relative to the surface area of metropolitan
areas(Figure7. 8).
Both city size and geographic area effects are evident here. Small urban
greenspaces are mainly of value for nearby residents’ recreation and as step-
ping stones for species movement across built areas. Still, in small cities these
small parks are close to the extensive greenspaces around the metropolitan area,