Urban greening strategies for compact areas - case study of Malmö, Sweden

Abstract

Planning of compact and green urban areas has become an emerging issue. Thus, there is a need to examine strategies for implementing green infrastructures in compact urban areas. The aim of this paper is to examine how green infrastructure is developed in a compact urban structure in a case study of the city of Malmö. Six examples of urban greening were selected. The selection was made to obtain a variety of types of green spaces that were not public parks and that were developed (or were intended to be developed) in compact urban structures. The findings suggest that there are reasons for analysing and discussing urban greening strategies in new categories, like building attached, grey and brown green infrastructure. The supply and distribution of cultural ecosystem services that these strategies offer were assessed by how they offer access for viewing, staying or interacting with the places. In this assessment the green infrastructure was divided in public, private and private-personal structures. The limitations and possibilities of different strategies need to be further explored with respect to the kinds of services supplied as well as how benefits are distributed. Cultural ecosystem services, such as recreation and social cohesion, cannot be taken for granted based on quantitative measures of green space alone. The spaces must be assessed in terms of types of access offered and who has access.