A vegetação é de grande importância para a qualidade ambiental das cidades. As áreas verdes urbanas (parques, praças, jardins, arborização viária, áreas protegidas) contribuem para a melhoria do clima local, o equilíbrio do regime hídrico, a proteção de áreas de fragilidade ambiental, o conforto térmico das edificações, o embelezamento da paisagem, bem como para o bem-estar da população. As áreas verdes disponibilizam espaços para o lazer, esportes, recreação e contemplação e são significativas para a socialização e integração dos cidadãos. Com o crescimento do processo de urbanização, é fundamental que as cidades sejam um lugar saudável e acolhedor para os seus habitantes e, para tanto, cada vez mais o planejamento urbano passa a ser necessário e fundamental. No Brasil, tanto na esfera federal, como na municipal, não existem regras legais claras, nem políticas públicas continuadas para o planejamento de áreas verdes urbanas. O presente trabalho faz o levantamento e análise da legislação federal e municipal (das capitais de Estado), urbanística e ambiental, que estabelece normas para o planejamento e gestão de áreas verdes e de sistemas de áreas verdes urbanas O modelo de análise utilizado foi o de pesquisa aplicada, qualitativa, descritiva e documental. Tem o objetivo de trazer subsídios para a discussão de uma legislação federal que norteie os municípios a planejarem os seus sistemas de áreas verdes, de modo que alguns parâmetros básicos sejam aplicados em todas as cidades brasileiras. Conclui-se que não existem regras unificadas, que a União repassa grande parte da responsabilidade da normatização referente ao tema aos municípios e que, como consequência, ocorrem grandes variações nas legislações existentes nas capitais avaliadas. Pode-se concluir, ainda, que o planejamento da vegetação no espaço urbano efetivamente deve ser realizado na forma de sistema de áreas verdes, para que as funções socioambientais das mesmas sejam distribuídas pela cidade e integradas no tecido urbano de forma acessível e disponível para todos. Com base na análise das leis existentes sobre sistemas municipais de áreas verdes, o trabalho traz subsídios para a normatização do tema apresentando alguns parâmetros referentes à definição de área verde e sistema de área verde, objetivos e diretrizes do sistema, composição, função e classificação, bem como financiamento e gestão do sistema. / Vegetation has a great importance for the city environmental quality. Urban green areas (parks, squares, gardens and protected green areas) contributes to improve the local climate, equilibrate the water cycle, protect fragile areas, control buildings temperature, creates beautiful landscape, as well as improves welfare of population. Green areas disposes space for leisure, sports, recreation and contemplation and are very meaningful for socialization and integration of citizens. With the growing of the urbanization process, it is fundamental that cities become a healthy and welcoming place for its inhabitants and for that, urban planning becomes more necessary and fundamental. In Brazil, also in federal and municipal scale, there are no clear legal norms, neither continued public policies, for the planning of urban green areas. The present study makes the survey and analysis of federal and municipal (of the state capitals), urbanistic and environmental laws, that establishes norms for the planning and management of green areas and green areas systems. The applied research model was a qualitative, descriptive and documentary analysis. The study has the aim to contribute for the construction of a federal law that guides the municipality by the planning of its green areas systems, so that some basic parameters are used by all cities The study concludes that there are no unified rules, that the federal government passes to the municipality the responsibility of making the laws relating to the theme and that, as consequence, there are big variations in the existing legislations of the studied cities. The study also concludes that the planning of vegetation in urban space effectively must be done in form of green areas systems, so that the social and environmental functions of them can be distributed throughout the town and be integrated in accessible and available form with the urban tissue. Based on the research of existing laws, the study brings contributions for the construction of norms for urban green areas systems presenting some parameters about definitions of green areas and green areas systems, aims and policies, composition, functions and classification as well as financing and management of the system.

As cities globally experience rapid urbanization, the pressure on urban green areas increases and simultaneously opportunities for human-nature interactions decrease, which are crucial for urban citizens’ wellbeing. Urban foraging- the gathering of plant or fungal materials in urban areas- is a common human-nature interaction that has been inadequately studied and overlooked in urban policy, planning, and design. The objective of this thesis is to gain insights into the practices, motivations, and barriers of foragers in Järva City District and Stockholm County. Through an exploratory mixed methodology approach, this study demonstrated that urban foraging is perceived as a recreational activity that motivates people to get out in nature and connects them to biodiversity in forests and parks within the city. Foraging links people to high quality and local food and encourages the sharing of local ecological knowledge. Foragers investigated display care for nature, indicating that foraging can nurture a bond between nature and urban citizens. The expressed barriers to foraging were time, proximity, lack of knowledge, and fear of pollution. The findings show that foraging provides various benefits for citizens in Stockholm County and Järva City District, implying that urban foraging should not be overlooked in future research and assessments, and should be considered and incorporated into urban policy, planning, and design. / Green Access

The last decades have been characterized by urbanization due to that the cities have widened and increased remarkably in number of inhabitants. The urbanization trend has led to a high pressure on land resources in the city. Many municipalities have therefore developed urban densification as a city development strategy. However, it is not uncommon that urban densification claims the green spaces as a suitable area in exploitation purpose. The reduced urban green areas have contributed to the valuable natural and cultural values are lost. To take compensatory measures of green spaces exploitation has therefore become an increasingly important tool for the modern urban planning. Though urban green spaces have a lot of positive effects in human health and for the environment, many municipalities in Sweden still do not have a strategy of the city greenery neither a strategy of compensation measures. This paper aims to investigate and to examine the extent to which compensation measures have been taken for a sample of zoning plans in the cities Umeå, Skellefteå and Piteå. The analysis is based on municipal guide lines of land and water use as well as the zoning plans and interviews with responsible officials in each city. To answer the questions to which compensation measures are used in exploitation of urban green areas and how the urban environment in each town has changed over time a literature study was made as well as a spatial overview in GIS and presentation of relevant data. The findings in this study shows that all the investigated cities have adopted a population goal that increases pressure on new housing. Neither of the studied zoning plans has applied adequate compensation measures even though the exploitation is planned on urban green spaces. Neither do any of the municipalities have a strategic approach for urban green areas despite the national authority Boverkets (2012) recommendation for achieving a sustainable urban planning in the present and in the future.

Em um cenário de expansão e precariedade urbana e, ao mesmo tempo, de uma crescente preocupação com a qualidade do ambiente urbano, agravado pelas mudanças climáticas, as áreas verdes agem como atenuantes dos problemas ambientais e de saúde, favorecendo a qualidade de vida. Porém, para que estes espaços favoreçam a qualidade de vida e auxiliem no processo de adaptação das cidades às mudanças climáticas, é imprescindível que ações estratégicas sejam empreendidas para aumentar a oferta de áreas verdes. Considerando a importância da gestão ambiental como estratégia para se buscar qualidade ambiental, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo analisar a gestão de áreas verdes no Município de São Paulo, considerando a política de áreas verdes do Plano Diretor Estratégico (2002), relatos de atores diversos e legislação correspondente. A pesquisa envolveu levantamento bibliográfico, pesquisa documental, análise do conteúdo de entrevistas com atores chave e estruturação de modelo de análise com os instrumentos e elementos necessários para a implementação de uma estrutura adequada de gestão de áreas verdes. Foram identificados ganhos, limites, potencialidades e proposições para a gestão de áreas verdes em São Paulo, a partir de um olhar sistêmico sobre a questão que abrangeu desde a estrutura e aplicação da política de áreas verdes contida no Plano Diretor, passando pelo processo de planejamento, até aspectos relativos à gestão de parques. O poder público possui estrutura institucional e legal para empreender as ações ambientais e tem buscado a concretização de um planejamento pautado em planos, programas e projetos. Existem fontes de financiamento e há mecanismos para efetivar a participação social, através dos conselhos de meio ambiente instituídos. Na última década houve vários avanços em relação às áreas verdes, como a criação de novos parques (urbanos, lineares e naturais) e a criação de um banco de áreas para implantação de futuros parques. No entanto, há vários limites a ser vencidos. É importante que haja o fortalecimento do processo de planejamento, fiscalização e avaliação das ações, criação de incentivos para manutenção de áreas verdes particulares, maior interlocução da política de áreas verdes com outras políticas urbanas e que sejam direcionados esforços pela administração municipal para que as mudanças de gestão não acarretem descontinuidade das ações, o que comprometeria a aplicação dos princípios do desenvolvimento sustentável. / In a setting of expansion and urban precarity, urban green areas act as extenuatory of the environmental and health problems. However, so that these spaces can promote the quality of life and help in the process of adapting cities to climate change, it is essential that strategic actions are thought to increase the supply of these spaces. This research aims to analyze green areas management in the city of São Paulo, considering green areas policy contained in the Strategic Master Plan (2002), reports of various actors and corresponding legislation. The research involved literature survey, documental research, content analysis of interviews with key actors identified and the structuring of and analysis model with tools necessary for the implementation of an appropriate management structure of green areas. Gains, limits, potentials and propositions for the management of green areas in the city were identified, from a systemic perspective on the issue, that ranged from the structure and implementation of the policy of green areas contained in the Master Plan, through the planning process, until aspects of park management. The government has institutional and legal structure to undertake environmental actions and has been seeking the implementation of a planning process based on plans, programs and projects. There are funding sources and mechanisms to enforce social participation, through environmental councils instituted. In the last decade there have been several advances relating to green areas, such as the creation of new parks (urban, linear and natural) and the creation of a bank of areas for the implantation of future parks. However, there are several limitations to be overcome. It is important to have the strengthening of the planning, monitoring and evaluation of actions taken, creation of incentives for maintenance of private green areas, greater dialogue of green areas policy with other urban policies, greater social control to the continuity of the policies and its appropriate application and that efforts be directed by the municipal administration to enable that management changes do not result in discontinuity of actions, which would limit the application of the principles of sustainable development.

Em um cenário de expansão e precariedade urbana e, ao mesmo tempo, de uma crescente preocupação com a qualidade do ambiente urbano, agravado pelas mudanças climáticas, as áreas verdes agem como atenuantes dos problemas ambientais e de saúde, favorecendo a qualidade de vida. Porém, para que estes espaços favoreçam a qualidade de vida e auxiliem no processo de adaptação das cidades às mudanças climáticas, é imprescindível que ações estratégicas sejam empreendidas para aumentar a oferta de áreas verdes. Considerando a importância da gestão ambiental como estratégia para se buscar qualidade ambiental, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo analisar a gestão de áreas verdes no Município de São Paulo, considerando a política de áreas verdes do Plano Diretor Estratégico (2002), relatos de atores diversos e legislação correspondente. A pesquisa envolveu levantamento bibliográfico, pesquisa documental, análise do conteúdo de entrevistas com atores chave e estruturação de modelo de análise com os instrumentos e elementos necessários para a implementação de uma estrutura adequada de gestão de áreas verdes. Foram identificados ganhos, limites, potencialidades e proposições para a gestão de áreas verdes em São Paulo, a partir de um olhar sistêmico sobre a questão que abrangeu desde a estrutura e aplicação da política de áreas verdes contida no Plano Diretor, passando pelo processo de planejamento, até aspectos relativos à gestão de parques. O poder público possui estrutura institucional e legal para empreender as ações ambientais e tem buscado a concretização de um planejamento pautado em planos, programas e projetos. Existem fontes de financiamento e há mecanismos para efetivar a participação social, através dos conselhos de meio ambiente instituídos. Na última década houve vários avanços em relação às áreas verdes, como a criação de novos parques (urbanos, lineares e naturais) e a criação de um banco de áreas para implantação de futuros parques. No entanto, há vários limites a ser vencidos. É importante que haja o fortalecimento do processo de planejamento, fiscalização e avaliação das ações, criação de incentivos para manutenção de áreas verdes particulares, maior interlocução da política de áreas verdes com outras políticas urbanas e que sejam direcionados esforços pela administração municipal para que as mudanças de gestão não acarretem descontinuidade das ações, o que comprometeria a aplicação dos princípios do desenvolvimento sustentável. / In a setting of expansion and urban precarity, urban green areas act as extenuatory of the environmental and health problems. However, so that these spaces can promote the quality of life and help in the process of adapting cities to climate change, it is essential that strategic actions are thought to increase the supply of these spaces. This research aims to analyze green areas management in the city of São Paulo, considering green areas policy contained in the Strategic Master Plan (2002), reports of various actors and corresponding legislation. The research involved literature survey, documental research, content analysis of interviews with key actors identified and the structuring of and analysis model with tools necessary for the implementation of an appropriate management structure of green areas. Gains, limits, potentials and propositions for the management of green areas in the city were identified, from a systemic perspective on the issue, that ranged from the structure and implementation of the policy of green areas contained in the Master Plan, through the planning process, until aspects of park management. The government has institutional and legal structure to undertake environmental actions and has been seeking the implementation of a planning process based on plans, programs and projects. There are funding sources and mechanisms to enforce social participation, through environmental councils instituted. In the last decade there have been several advances relating to green areas, such as the creation of new parks (urban, linear and natural) and the creation of a bank of areas for the implantation of future parks. However, there are several limitations to be overcome. It is important to have the strengthening of the planning, monitoring and evaluation of actions taken, creation of incentives for maintenance of private green areas, greater dialogue of green areas policy with other urban policies, greater social control to the continuity of the policies and its appropriate application and that efforts be directed by the municipal administration to enable that management changes do not result in discontinuity of actions, which would limit the application of the principles of sustainable development.

Sustainable Development challenges will increasingly concentrate in cities as the urbanization in Europe and the rest of the world continues and governments must implement policies to ensure benefits of urban growths are shared sustainably. When more people move into the cities, the intimate contact with nature is lost since nature has not always been a priority in the history of urban planning. A biophilic approach is considered in this study, where the concept of inclusion of nature is perceived essential for the human life and previous empirical evidence supports the theory of presence of nature being substantial to human wellbeing. Because of the population density, Paris is an interesting example of the development of a megacity in a post-Kyoto context. The development project for the Paris urban area, called Le Grand Paris, intends to develop Paris on several levels. The aim with this study is to examine driving forces for nature as a part of an urban setting that can contribute to the development of intelligent sustainable urban planning for the future. Using qualitative methods to gather empirical data and a discourse analytical framework, this study intends to increase the understanding of perspectives, incentives and discords in the perceptions of urban green space and Sustainable Development. The problem statement is: How is urban green space carried out in the perspectives of cultural, economical and ecological values of citizens and planning documents in the context of Le Grand Paris project? The results establish that that need of increasing vegetation in the city of Paris is pressing in order to enhance quality of life and increase effects of ecological services. The continuing urbanization of Paris will intensify the need of social-ecological interactions, which require approaches through processes of democracy and participation in order to contribute to intra- and intergenerational socio-ecological justice for a sustainable Paris.

This thesis explores characteristics of loose space and their implications for physical activity. A space becomes loose when an individual is using it for something other than what it was intended. Individuals can pursue a range of physical activities not possible in other public spaces. To assess the compatibility between loose space and physical activity a survey of 27 users of loose space and key informant interviews from public health, municipal parks and landscape architecture disciplines were used. Interview findings suggest that unstructured forms of physical activity are more likely to be adopted and maintained while survey results show 70% of loose space users are achieving recommended physical activity levels. Multifunctional space that can accommodate appropriation and change may have design implications for improving health. Design recommendations and strategies were developed to inform the design and management of loose space for physical activity. This study suggests that the qualities and distribution of loose space could improve adoption and maintenance of physical activity.

The primary objectives of this study are to understand if and how cities are adapting to heat and water stress and to characterize their understanding of the potential tradeoffs associated with vegetation-based strategies. I address these objectives using two approaches: a comparative analysis of climate adaptation and sustainability planning documents in cities vulnerable to heat and water stress and an in-depth case study of the response to heat and water threats in Los Angeles. The comparative analysis of city plans builds a broad understanding of how cities are planning to adapt to heat and water stress and the degree to which they articulate an understanding of, and mitigate the potential for, maladaptive measures. The Los Angeles case study provides the opportunity to more deeply trace how the process of adapting to heat and water stress has unfolded in a single city. To do so, I locate the city’s contemporary policies in an historical continuum with previous municipal environmental policy efforts, in local patterns of urban development and their entailing political and economic foundations, and in regional, state, national, and international environmental policy hierarchies.

This thesis sets out to explore how immigrant women encounter urban green spaces in Istanbul and Stockholm in their everyday lives. Underlying this focus is the importance of urban green spaces’ in providing a sustainable future and a healthy life for all and inequalities in accessing these spaces. Considering a lack of focus on gender and power dynamics in the environmental perception studies and urban green spaces, this thesis inductively explores how women encounter and experience urban green spaces and how power shapes these experiences by adopting a feminist epistemology and methodology through the use of in-depth interviews and qualitative GIS. Using Google Earth as a qualitative GIS method allows for non-verbal expressions to come forward during the interviews and creates a more collaborative and inclusive research process in line with a feminist methodology adopted in this thesis. My findings further contribute to how to practically design inclusive urban green spaces. The findings show that the cultural and gendered constructions of urban green spaces shape how these spaces were experienced by the women participants. The findings also show that body is an important source of knowledge in understanding how women encounter and experience these spaces. Through understanding the role of gender and culture in shaping these spaces and hence the experiences, my findings contribute to scholarship on the accessibility of urban green spaces. How my research participants experience green spaces in the case study locations highlighted the need to understand accessibility beyond physical proximity

As the planet rapidly urbanizes and demand for locally-produced ecosystem services grows, the effective management of urban green infrastructure is increasingly important. A number of digital tools have recently been developed and released that share information and incite citizen participation in the governance, management and planning of urban green infrastructure. In this paper, I analyse six different e-tools within the context of New York City with a focus on the types of knowledge they share and the forms of participation they incite in relation to urban green infrastructure. I explore how e-tool knowledge exchange and participation relate to civic stewardship of urban green spaces, as stewards play a significant role in the local production of urban ecosystem services. The findings indicate that most e-tools are designed to share a large amount of data describing social-ecological systems. In many cases, the tool developers hope that through gaining knowledge about the system, users will develop an ethical consideration for the environmental resource and even take action as environmental stewards. Additionally, while many of the e-tools present complex, exploratory digital learning environments, many also combine virtual experiences with in-person trainings, workshops and coaching. These hybrid approaches harness the power of digital platforms to organize diverse social networks and share large amounts of data while employing more traditional on-the-ground organizing techniques and offer a way forward in an age of increasing dominance of digital data. Further research on these types of hybrid digital approaches is warranted. Future research on e-tool usership and connections to stewardship outcomes could enrich the understanding of how e-tools operate as well as their social-ecological potential and impact.