Urban green spaces can improve residents’ health and well-being. However, international research shows that urban greening can produce gentrification effects. A dilemma for planners is determining whether the scale of greening or the characteristics of green spaces is driving gentrification. In this article, Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and field investigations are used to assess the potential gentrification effects of a new public green space in the urban central area of Hangzhou, China. Hangzhou is one of China’s ‘garden cities’, but rapid urbanization and climate change are increasing urban heat-island impacts, requiring large-scale urban greening. The two-stage CCA not only confirms the green gentrification phenomenon within the study area but suggests that large green spaces appear to foster gentrification due to their functional benefits, favorable policy support, elaborate embellishments, and strict management and maintenance regimes. Appropriate policy responses may include using a ‘just green enough’ approach: whereby distributed smaller green spaces, with less stringent maintenance could resolve the green gentrification paradox.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	canonical correlation analysis, green gentrification, urban green space, urban ecology, green space, methods, theory, practice, cities, nature
Research Division:	Built Environment and Design
Research Group:	Urban and regional planning
Research Field:	Land use and environmental planning
Objective Division:	Environmental Policy, Climate Change and Natural Hazards
Objective Group:	Environmental policy, legislation and standards
Objective Field:	Consumption patterns, population issues and the environment
UTAS Author:	Byrne, J (Professor Jason Byrne)
ID Code:	143336
Year Published:	2021
Web of Science® Times Cited:	18
Deposited By:	Geography and Spatial Science
Deposited On:	2021-03-11
Last Modified:	2021-09-15
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