Paper

Assessing Public Health Benefits through Green Infrastructure Strategies in Medium-sized Cities in Spain. Case study: La Coruña.

---

Abstract

The last UNFPA statistical data show up that over the 50% of the world´s population has lived in urban areas since 2010. Although it´s true that cities offer multiple opportunities (job, knowledge, culture,…) also it is true that they have a negative aspect in everything related with the fast pace of life, the lack of leisure areas, the social incohesion and the public health. Among the different alternatives that may be suggested to try to minimize this problem and look for more healthy cities, inside a global sustainability framework, stands out green infrastructure (GI). As we know, green infrastructure, regardless of their different conceptual approaches and contexts, discussed deeply by many authors (Benedict and McMahon, 2006; Sylwester, 2009), is a strong multiscale planning strategy whose use is booming in the international panorama. Undeniably, both GI and its various components as green corridors, parks, gardens, etc ... have a strong nature of multifunctionality that is supported by numerous scientific and technical studies (Fabos, 1995; Tzoulas et al. 2007) and form a complex system that produces multiple benefits, including public health (PH).

Through a case study of La Coruña city (northeast of Spain, Fig.1) (LCG), we have analyzed as the approach of GI on a municipal and provincial scale may be the suitable solution to numerous existing problems in medium-sized cities, with a high population density and with some appearance peculiarities, geographical siting and psychology barriers, connecting it with the benefits that are generated to public health in a double aspect: prevention and economical saving.

Keywords: greenways, public health, benefits, spain, la coruna, strategies, green infrastructure

How to Cite:

Calaza-Martínez, P. & Ribeiro, L., (2013) “Assessing Public Health Benefits through Green Infrastructure Strategies in Medium-sized Cities in Spain. Case study: La Coruña.”, Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning 4(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.7275/fabos.736