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People living in green neighborhoods and regularly visit parks experience better health. These people feel less stressed, are more satisfied with their surroundings, and are more physically active. Being able to anticipate what changes in green structure can mean to inhabitants in a city is of great relevance. Recognizing that parks and green spaces have different characteristics adds to our awareness of their qualities, which could contribute to their protection. The book presents a method for classifying different types of parks and green spaces. The classification is based on physical qualities found in the environment: so-called park characteristics . The park characteristics are registered through visual judgments, but have been developed based on how people in Sweden use parks and green spaces. The book is intended to be a useful tool for landscape architects and planners in their work with developing, analyzing and designing existing as well as new parks and green areas.

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Helena Nordh is a landscape architect working at the Department of Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB). She does research within the field of landscape architecture and environmental psychology, currently focusing on restorative qualities in small urban green spaces.

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