Johan van Zoest

Most of us will spend most our lives in an urban environment. More than ever, it is necessary to invest in the quality of urban environments as places to live in. Although living in the city has many advantages, at the same time it is so taxing, that people frequently change the city for rural and natural surroundings. Since non urban landscapes generally have high restorative qualities, no city is complete without a spatial system which brings a rich variety of ‘green’ experiences within reach of the urban dweller.

A complete urban greenspace system comprises three basic types of landscape: (i) small scale planting in housing areas, (ii) parks and (iii) periurban landscapes. Within these basic types, many subtypes can be discerned, e.g. private and communal gardens, urban parks, allotment gardens, cemeteries, natural areas and urban forests. It is difficult to isolate urban nature as a separate category: all greenspaces differ in their degree of naturalness and biodiversity.

Recent decades have witnessed a growing interest in urban nature i.e. natural forms of urban greenspaces. As the prime cause of this situation may be regarded the rapidly diminishing supply of natural places and landscapes within walking and biking distance of urban dwellers. Urban growth, densification and the agro-industrialization of the rural landscape have created a growing distance, both geographically and psychologically, between urbanites and natural areas. Since there is massive scientific evidence that recreation in natural areas appeals to basic human needs and therefore must be accommodated in some way, the following trends are to be expected in urban areas in years to come:

• Extreme green: the greening of buildings, especially roofs, as a compensation for the loss of greenspace in densified housing areas
• The transformation of suburban parks in more heavily used urban parks
• The transformation of periurban landscapes to recreational landscapes
• Semi-public facilities such as allotment gardens will be given a more public function
• In all types of urban greenspace, opportunities for creating urban nature will be increasingly recognized.