title: Environmental quality of urban parks and open spaces in Hong Kong.
abstract: It is widely purported that urban parks and open spaces can improve the urban environment by cleansing the air and reducing the noise. However, such environmental functions can be constrained by the size and the location of urban parks in very dense cities. This study examines the air and acoustic environment and heavy metal contamination in Hong Kong urban parks and open spaces. Using a hybrid field measurement and computer simulation approach, the study has found that while the air quality in urban parks is better than that of the roadside, it is not significantly different from that of the ambient conditions. Noise levels in the urban parks are not significantly lower than those at the typical home environment in Hong Kong. Heavy metals in urban park dust are slightly lower than that found at the roadside and are broadly comparable to those found at typical homes and nursery schools. These findings lend support to the postulation that the capability of urban parks and open spaces in dense cities to improve the urban environment is rather limited and call for a re-examination of the role of urban parks in enhancing urban livability. The findings also have implications on how urban parks in dense cities should be designed and managed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, ROC. kinchelam@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: Kin-Che
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Sai-Leung
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Wing-Chi
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.forename: Pak-Kin
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000032:analysis; D002947:Cities; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006723:Hong Kong; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000032:analysis; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide / Q000032:analysis; D009622:Noise; D011998:Recreation; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D004391:Dust; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide