441
according to health scientists, one of the most important aspects of health promotion
in settlement areas (Rittel et al. 2016, p. 59; Ward Thompson 2013). The journey to
work, to school, going shopping, etc. should be covered as much as possible - not
by car - but on foot or by bike. Special attention to this issue is paid in the next
section.
19.6 Greenways for Sustainable and Healthy Mobility
in Daily Life
To allow for daily active travel by people, attractive, safe and largely noise-free connectivity of routes in green spaces are an important precondition (Greenspace
Scotland 2008). Accordingly ‘green connections’ for cyclists and pedestrians should
be created between residential areas and highly frequented places such as community and shopping centres, schools, kindergartens and areas with a high density of
work places. To implement such a network of greenways for everyday physical
activity and mobility, pre-existing green spaces could build the backbone, supplemented by newly planned routes, but especially by linear green structures, such as
clearly demarcated pedestrian and cycle paths safe from motorised traffic and
accompanied by tree avenues, hedgerows and other appropriate linear green elements. An overlap with parts of a habitat network or land within a green belt is possible, but conflicts should be avoided or at least minimised. Seen from a landscape
planning perspective, this would ideally result in a city-wide network of green infrastructure, consisting of multi-functional green spaces with high amenity values and
linear, but ‘green’, path connections. Such a network could contribute to the reduction of car traffic, thereby reducing noise, accidents and air pollution, and in this
way would also improve healthy environmental conditions.
How such an approach could be pursued in (landscape) planning has been shown
by Bloß (2016) in the example of the city of Oranienburg, a medium-sized municipality with about 42.000 inhabitants, located ca. 20 km north of Berlin. In order to
identify suitable routes in an area of limited available space, Bloß made use of the
GIS-based least-cost path (LCP) model (see Conine et al. 2004; Teng et al. 2011) for
greenway alignment purposes. The LCP combines a land suitability assessment
with an algorithm in order to identify the most suitable routes. Simplifying the
working procedure somewhat, the following main steps were taken:
1. Identification of demand areas. Residential areas and highly frequented urban
centres were identified as areas with a high demand for interconnection by greenways. These ‘demand areas’ were used to determine start and destination
points for greenways (see Fig. 19.1).
2. Suitability assessment. The suitability of different areas for being a part of the
greenway network was assessed using five criteria: land availability, road types,
attractiveness, demand for connectivity and protection status (nature conservation). For each of these, all spatial features were categorised into levels of suit19 Linking Landscape Planning and Health
according to health scientists, one of the most important aspects of health promotion
in settlement areas (Rittel et al. 2016, p. 59; Ward Thompson 2013). The journey to
work, to school, going shopping, etc. should be covered as much as possible - not
by car - but on foot or by bike. Special attention to this issue is paid in the next
section.
19.6 Greenways for Sustainable and Healthy Mobility
in Daily Life
To allow for daily active travel by people, attractive, safe and largely noise-free connectivity of routes in green spaces are an important precondition (Greenspace
Scotland 2008). Accordingly ‘green connections’ for cyclists and pedestrians should
be created between residential areas and highly frequented places such as community and shopping centres, schools, kindergartens and areas with a high density of
work places. To implement such a network of greenways for everyday physical
activity and mobility, pre-existing green spaces could build the backbone, supplemented by newly planned routes, but especially by linear green structures, such as
clearly demarcated pedestrian and cycle paths safe from motorised traffic and
accompanied by tree avenues, hedgerows and other appropriate linear green elements. An overlap with parts of a habitat network or land within a green belt is possible, but conflicts should be avoided or at least minimised. Seen from a landscape
planning perspective, this would ideally result in a city-wide network of green infrastructure, consisting of multi-functional green spaces with high amenity values and
linear, but ‘green’, path connections. Such a network could contribute to the reduction of car traffic, thereby reducing noise, accidents and air pollution, and in this
way would also improve healthy environmental conditions.
How such an approach could be pursued in (landscape) planning has been shown
by Bloß (2016) in the example of the city of Oranienburg, a medium-sized municipality with about 42.000 inhabitants, located ca. 20 km north of Berlin. In order to
identify suitable routes in an area of limited available space, Bloß made use of the
GIS-based least-cost path (LCP) model (see Conine et al. 2004; Teng et al. 2011) for
greenway alignment purposes. The LCP combines a land suitability assessment
with an algorithm in order to identify the most suitable routes. Simplifying the
working procedure somewhat, the following main steps were taken:
1. Identification of demand areas. Residential areas and highly frequented urban
centres were identified as areas with a high demand for interconnection by greenways. These ‘demand areas’ were used to determine start and destination
points for greenways (see Fig. 19.1).
2. Suitability assessment. The suitability of different areas for being a part of the
greenway network was assessed using five criteria: land availability, road types,
attractiveness, demand for connectivity and protection status (nature conservation). For each of these, all spatial features were categorised into levels of suit19 Linking Landscape Planning and Health