Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística

About the publication - Methodology Proposal for Identification and Mapping of Green Urban Areas in Brazil

Cities are the type of space that concentrate most people whose evergrowing demands foster the provision of multiple services, the expansion of transportation essential mobility infrastructures and the increase of areas built for housing purposes, which ends up turning urbanized areas into rather waterproof anthropized spaces, eventually affecting environmental cycles and, very often, resident’s quality of livings.

In recognition of such issues, the United Nations Organization - ONU adopted, in 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals – SDG, whose global action plan, formed by 17 objectives and 169 targets, establishes SDG 11 – Sustainable cities and communities, which aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Among the indicators and parameters for monitoring the reach of this specific objective, data on vegetation cover in the urban mesh stand out, due to the several benefits, or ecosystemic services, provided to the population: improvement of air quality; mitigation of flood impacts, landslides, heat waves and other extreme climate events; maintenance of water quality; improvement of general health and provision of recreation areas. Urban green areas are paid special attention within the SDG, more precisely regarding Indicator 11.7.1 – Average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with disabilities, which measures the access of the urban population to open areas, including green areas.

Added to the important commitment made by the IBGE regarding the coordination of construction of indicators for internalization and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda in Brazil, this publication presents a methodology proposal for identification and mapping of urban green areas in Brazil, so as to provide inputs for the environmental planning of cities.

This study is experimental and its statistics, obtained from a pilot test conducted in the cities of Guarulhos, in São Paulo, and Palmas, in Tocantins, are under evaluation for they have not yet reached a full level of maturity in terms of methodology, harmonization or coverage. Technical considerations and the analyses presented herein are expected to subsidize the development of a suitable methodology for the construction and calculation of indicators on urban green areas in Brazil, aligned with the Program +Green Cities, developed by the Ministry of the Environment, and with the international agenda represented by SDG 11.