Spatial Accessibility Measures for Egyptian Cities' Urban Parks Utilizing GIS-Based Methods

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Architecture, The British University in Egypt, El Sherouk City, Egypt.

Abstract

Urban parks play a vital role in urban ecosystem by offering resident spaces for recreation and relaxation. These parks are vital for improving urban areas' livability and standard of living. They give both residents and visitors chances for exercise, conversation, and a respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. Urban parks serve as green lung spaces that enhance biodiversity, enhance air quality while reducing the effects of urban heat islands. Assessing the spatial accessibility of urban parks serves as a fundamental starting point in urban planning, enabling the development of strategies that enhance environmental and social justice within urban communities. This research aimed to develop a spatial accessibility GIS model to measure the access of urban parks within the urban context through comparative analysis by Thematic Mapping, Overlay Analysis and Statistical Analysis. The methods used in this study are: Computing the statistical index for the urban parks within an urban context, analysis of spatial proximity to access urban parks and examination of spatial interaction to consider the force of attraction between the origin and destination. The results showed that the statistical index gave data about the parks per person, while the spatial proximity assessed the accessibility variations and finally the spatial interaction approaches offered a unique set of accessibility measures compared to the other previous methods.

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