A Framework for Urban Green Areas Assessment Using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems Technologies

The conservation and improvement of the socio-environmental functions of urban green areas (UGAs), such as microclimate regulation, air purification, surface water runoff, and recreational functions, represent one of the goals of sustainable urban development. This objective can be reached by implementing suitable UGAs planning and management strategies, which can be defined starting from a complete and integrated assessment of the quality of the UGAs’ service delivered within urban contexts, which depends on the availability, accessibility, and quality of these spaces. Using a methodology that combines RS and GIS technologies, the research aims to quantitatively analyze the availability, accessibility, and quality of UGAs in real time by suggesting proper policies and actions to improve urban and environmental quality from a quantitative perspective. The developed methodology, characterized by a structured information management system, is tested and validated on a case study. The results reveal that the UGA quality of service provided in the case study is very low and highlight valuable insights in the definition of adequate guidelines to support decision-making on the challenging objective of incorporating suggested actions within urban plans, making sustainability goals achievable.