Balikci, Giezen, and Arundel evaluated how sustainable city development may influence resident experiences. Their work “focusses on the dilemma between compact city and urban greenspace policies and their influence on actual land-use change in Amsterdam and Brussels. . . . The results show that densification indeed decreases the quantity (Amsterdam: −4.7% Brussels: −11.9%), average size (A: −3.1% B: −25.6%) and connectivity of urban greenspaces. . . . . the identified trends in loss of greenspace and the inability of green land-use policies to reconcile urban development pressures has substantial negative implications on the livability and sustainability of cities. Compact city development can contribute to sustainable urban development by lowering energy use, implementing more environmentally friendly transport and conserving greenspaces outside the urban boundaries. . . . greenspace plays crucial roles toward the local ecosystem, biodiversity and the mental and physical well-being of urban dwellers.”
Stella Balikci, Mendel Giezen, and Rowan Arundel. 2022. “The Paradox of Planning the Compact and Green City: Analyzing Land-Use Change in Amsterdam and Brussels.” Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, vol. 65, no. 13, pp. 2387-2411, https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2021.1971069