Urban greenery
Urban greenery is a characteristic element of urban landscapes. It plays an important role in climate and biodiversity (cooling of cities; creation of biotopes) and has been used for centuries to promote the attractiveness of life and culture in an urban setting (e.g. parks). It can strengthen people's sense of identity with the local area and provide a space for recreation.
poor
negative
The area of urban greenery declined between 2017 and the end of 2020. The greatest changes can be observed in the Alpine region (approx. -2% per year), while other areas seem to be less affected (approx. -1% per year). Meteorological causes are not taken into account in the method as far as possible.
The indicator is not comparable at international level.
Sentinel-2 remote sensing data is used to evaluate green spaces. This produces high-resolution and multi-spectral images, i.e. ones involving colour spectrums invisible to the human eye. This makes it easier to detect plant activity. To evaluate plant activity, the NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) was observed in the period from mid-May to mid-September. However, it can be seen that weather-related causes, especially drought stress in summer, have a strong influence on the NDVI. To reduce this, only the period from mid-May to the end of June was analysed to avoid influences of drought stress.
Further information
