ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: Landscape ecology as an interdisciplinary science has great potential to inform landscape planning, an integrated, collaborative practice on a regional scale. It is commonly assumed that landscape ecological concepts play a key role in this quest. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the paper is to identify landscape ecological concepts that are currently receiving attention in the scientific literature, analyze the prevalence of these concepts and understand how these concepts can inform the steps of the planning processes, from goal establishment to monitoring. METHODS: We analyzed all empirical and overview papers that have been published in four key academic journals in the field of landscape ecology and landscape planning in the years 2015-2019 (n = 1918). Title, abstract and keywords of all papers were read in order to identify landscape ecological concepts. A keyword search was applied to identify the use of these and previously mentioned concepts in common steps of the planning cycle. RESULTS: The concepts Structure, Function, Change, Scale, Landscape as human experience, Land use, Landscape and ecosystem services, Green infrastructure, and Landscape resilience were prominently represented in the analyzed literature. Landscape ecological concepts were most often mentioned in context of the landscape analysis steps and least in context of goal establishment and monitoring. CONCLUSIONS: The current literature spots landscape ecological concepts with great potential to support landscape planning. However, future studies need to address directly how these concepts can inform all steps in the planning process. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version of this article (10.1007/s10980-021-01193-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
ABSTRACT
Cities undergoing climate change and rapid urbanization are faced with significant transformational processes that affect the environment and society, challenging them to become more sustainable and resilient. The promotion of nature-based solutions represents an efficient approach to meet sustainability targets in cities and improve the quality of life of citizens. The association of large components of green infrastructure, such as urban parks, with physical activity can counteract the sedentary lifestyle endemic to cities and improve the overall health and well-being of individuals (Carrus et al., 2013; Scopelliti et al., 2016). By promoting a sustainable means of transport and connecting green spaces within a highly urbanized city, bicycle lanes represent an effective tool for associating physical activity with nature in cities allowing bicycle users to benefit from the positive health effects of nature-based solutions. Our study focuses on the potential of bicycle lanes to improve functional connectivity among green spaces. We administered 820 questionnaires in 34 green spaces (i.e., urban parks) in Bucharest, Romania, to identify the factors influencing the use of bicycle lanes connecting urban parks and to understand which planning criteria for bicycle lanes are considered as the most important by park visitors. We applied binary and ordinal logistic regressions and found that the factors affecting bicycle lane use are illegally parked cars and lack of accessibility to urban parks. The criteria preferred by park visitors for bicycle lane planning are determined by experience level and frequency of bicycle use. To develop a functional and integrated bicycle lane network that can make cities healthier and more sustainable, policy makers are advised to engage in a public participatory process and focus on the needs of bicycle users.