INTERCONNECTIONS OF URBAN GREEN SPACES AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF TEHRAN

In this study the direct effects of urban green space dispersal and density on quality of the environment of the regions of Tehran have been investigated and evaluated. In order to do so, the area and green space per capita and vegetation cover density of the regions of Tehran have been measured as ecological indices for evaluating their environmental quality. The measurements have been done by means of land use layers in GIS, satellite images of vegetation cover dispersal and density and calculating the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). High levels of population density and carbon monoxide concentration in each city region have been considered as human indices for low quality of urban environments. Comparison of these indices, and analysis of the correlation level between them, indicates that the regions which have the least green space area per capita and vegetation cover density are also the most polluted and populated areas. The results of this study would introduce planning priorities for urban green space development in Tehran.

[1]  Robert W. Miller Urban Forestry: Planning and Managing Urban Greenspaces , 1988 .

[2]  Karen Attwell,et al.  URBAN LAND RESOURCES AND URBAN PLANTING-CASE STUDIES FROM DENMARK , 2000 .

[3]  A. Yavari,et al.  URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE IN ARID MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENT , 2007 .

[4]  Jesslyn F. Brown,et al.  Measuring phenological variability from satellite imagery , 1994 .

[5]  J. Campbell Introduction to remote sensing , 1987 .

[6]  A. S. Belward,et al.  Scale considerations in vegetation monitoring using AVHRR data , 1992 .

[7]  R. Lunetta,et al.  A change detection experiment using vegetation indices. , 1998 .

[8]  Stuart E. Marsh,et al.  Comparison of multi-temporal NOAA-AVHRR and SPOT-XS satellite data for mapping land-cover dynamics in the West African Sahel , 1992 .

[9]  Ali Khalili,et al.  Using AVHRR-based vegetation indices for drought monitoring in the Northwest of Iran , 2008 .

[10]  P. R. Miller Air Pollution and Forests , 1982 .

[11]  P. Bolund,et al.  Ecosystem services in urban areas , 1999 .

[12]  R. Kaplan,et al.  The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective , 1989 .

[13]  C.Y. Jim,et al.  Assessing the ecosystem service of air pollutant removal by urban trees in Guangzhou (China). , 2008, Journal of environmental management.

[14]  E. Mcpherson,et al.  Chicago's urban forest ecosystem: Results of the Chicago Urban Forest Climate Project. (Includes executive summary). Forest Service general technical report (Final) , 1994 .

[15]  V. Schaefer Green Links and Urban Biodiversity — an Experiment in Connectivity , 2003 .

[16]  M. Alberti,et al.  Integrating Humans into Ecology: Opportunities and Challenges for Studying Urban Ecosystems , 2003 .

[17]  Liping Di,et al.  Modelling relationships between NDVI and precipitation during vegetative growth cycles , 1994 .