Experienced affordances of urban green spaces in comparison with planning standards: The case study of Xirokrini – Ampelokipi – Menemeni area in western Thessaloniki

Adequate provision of Urban Green Spaces (UGS) is a fundamental pillar for sustainable urban development and resilience. Greek planning laws mandate standards for their size and service radius in neighbourhood units. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, in Thessaloniki, as in many cities around the world, residents’ use of green spaces has intensified due to the need for close contact with nature, showing lack and uneven distribution of UGS in many residential districts. The scope of this paper is: to examine whether the size (surface) of available green spaces, which is the parameter taken into account in planning standards to calculate indexes such as “m2 of green space/inhabitant,” is a safe indicator for the fulfilment of residents’ needs for recreation and contact with nature; to investigate how other key factors, such as the physical design of UGS, the characteristics of the connecting routes etc., influence residents’ use of them; and to examine how green spaces can be comprehensively integrated in urban fabric, advancing quality of life of the residents, through interventions that promote connectivity of and accessibility to available green spaces. It does so by using as a case study the area of Xirokrini – Ampelokipi – Menemeni in western Thessaloniki