Evaluation of urban green spaces in Bratislava

Current land-use patterns in Slovak towns are undergoing a rapid change. The ratio of built-up spaces to green spaces is increasing. Green areas in the urban environment need to be preserved for their recreational, hygienic and aesthetic functions. A further reason is that green areas serve also ecological functions. This contribution deals with the topic of evaluating the urban green spaces in Bratislava. The green spaces were mapped at two levels. The first level included the areas larger than 10 ha: forests and forest parks; complexes of private gardens, allotments and weekend cottage gardens. The second level contained green spaces with the area between 0.5 and 10 ha: remnants of natural vegetation; parks; landscaped surrounds around housing estates and commercial premises; tree-lined avenues, alleys, roadside verges; cemeteries and historical cemeteries. The results of this research besides the geographic distribution of green spaces, their areas, origin, composition of plant species and woody growth structure also include data on the functionality of individual categories of green areas.