Ecosystem services of urban green spaces: integrating social media data and physical models for social-ecological urban planning

The increasing urbanization poses significant challenges to both the environment and the quality of life, a concept that is now well-established. Concurrently recognized is the role of public green spaces, such as parks within urban settings, in providing substantial benefits for human mental and physical health. These spaces not only contribute to mitigating climate change effects but also enhance the environment on both local and global scales. Despite this understanding, there remains a paucity of holistic studies that assess the dual dimensions—environmental and social—of the benefits rendered by green spaces. This gap primarily exists because, although environmental benefits have become more quantifiable through automated means, social benefits still require methodologies that are both time-intensive and resource-heavy. Moreover, it is advocated that to foster the benefits for the population, it is essential that public green spaces are not only sufficiently extensive but also evenly distributed and positively evaluated in qualitative terms. Consequently, the availability of tools capable of facilitating this assessment becomes crucial. This thesis, taking the city of Rome as a case study, aims to navigate the socio-ecological benefits of nature through a holistic lens. Specifically, it does: preliminarily outline the evolution of Rome’s public green spaces from the year it became capital to today, to allow for a foundational comprehension of interplay between their characteristics today and their management through history; analyse the distributional effects of urbanization and the loss of environmental benefits, with a forecasting perspective; introduce a novel semi-automatic methodology to quantify urban green spaces’ perceived quality, enabling urban-scale assessment; demonstrate that the mere quantity of green spaces is an insufficient metric without considering accessibility and perceived quality; and, compare the distribution of social and environmental benefits of urban green spaces to identify possible influences and correlations. Central to this thesis is the development of tools to aid urban administrations in managing urban green spaces effectively, promoting a high quality of urban life, equitable distribution of social benefits, and environmental benefits that tangibly mitigate climate change. The foundational assumption is that the social and environmental benefits of urban green spaces are intertwined, necessitating integrated promotion strategies. To frame these benefits, the thesis adopts the conceptual framework of ecosystem services, aiming to quantify complex benefits of nature, such as those urban green spaces offer. This approach aligns with the notion that not all valuable aspects are quantifiable, yet emphasizes the significance of quantifying elements crucial to face today’s socio-environmental challenges, for effective current state assessment and future scenario planning. This work underscores the inseparability of social and environmental facets in urban green spaces, advocating for a comprehensive strategy that encapsulates both for the sustainable development of urban environments.