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ECOINDEX AS A TOOL OF REGULATION OF THE URBAN GREENERY IN THE PUBLIC SPACE

Karol Görner

Abstract

Greenery is an indispensable element of the urban structure, which brings not only ecological but also economic and social benefits. The regulation of urban greenery is an essential part of spatial planning. In addition to regulating the proportion of a green area, a so-called Green space factor, taking the environmental benefits of urban greenery into account is becoming increasingly important. This tool is usually used for regulation of urban structure at a zonal level. Nowadays, when special attention is paid to public spaces, the question is: is Green space factor also suitable for public space regulation? The aim of the paper is to verify the possibilities of using Green space factor in public space regulation. The paper uses the methodology of Ecoindex (one of many Green space factor alternatives) to evaluate the urban greenery on a case study of the Ceskoslovenskych tankistov street in the City district Bratislava - Zahorska Bystrica, Slovakia. By comparing the achieved Ecoindex values of the urban design proposals and the current state of the selected public space, the study verifies the possibility of determining the optimal value of the Ecoindex for the selected case study. At the same time, the study highlights the advantages and disadvantages of Ecoindex regulation compared to the quantitative regulation of urban greenery. The study thus complements and updates the findings of a pilot study already carried out. The results of the research showed that Ecoindex, despite the more complicated calculation, is a suitable tool for the purpose of regulating urban greenery within the public space. The research set the optimal Ecoindex value for the chosen public space and also pointed out that a higher quantitative proportion of urban greenery does not necessarily mean an increase in the environmental quality of the public space.

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