Distribution, extent and accessibility of green spaces in Santiago de Chile

Abstract

Green spaces provide social and ecological functions within urban environments. The magnitude of these depends on the size, distribution and accessibility of such spaces. These attributes of the green areas in Santiago de Chile are evaluated using landscape metrics. The results show that 91% of green spaces are smaller than 5,000 m2. Municipalities with higher population and lower income levels had a greater number of green spaces, but these are smaller than 1,000 m2. The four municipalities with the highest income levels have 32.2% of the total green space surface, while the four municipalities with the lowest income levels barely exceed 4.0%. The proposed accessibility indicator (IAc) reveals that in the La Pintana municipality (low income level), 19.6% of the population has access to a green space of at least 5,000 within 300m from their home, while this figure is 45.3% for San Miguel (medium income level) and 74.1% in Vitacura (high income level). Chilean urban legislation tends to promote the creation of smaller green spaces.