Evaluating the Urban Green Spaces: Benefits and Issues

As urbanization leads to rapid decline in open spaces across our cities, a rethink for the sustainability of urban biodiversity and maintenance of essential ecosystem services is a must. The rate at which urbanization is taking place is exponential resulting in urban sprawls eating away much of open spaces. Environmental degradation continues to be a major problem in many cities as the open spaces available per capita are decreasing. By 2030 more than 57% of the world's population is expected to live in urban areas with the figure expected to touch 70% by 2050 (United Nations, 2013). Consequently urban sustainability will be a critical challenge, particularly for developing nations like India. This paper evaluates the importance of these spaces and tries to propose urban design solutions for sustainability of these recreational open spaces.