Of all the world’s population, 55% or more than half live in urban areas, and this figure is expected to rise by about 80% by 2059.
Living in urban areas is synonymous with convenience, opportunities, and significantly more options and choices than in rural areas.
The downside is that urban areas are more prone to pollution, which affects health, including air pollution from traffic congestion, industrial emissions, and energy use.
In densely built and populated urban areas, having green spaces and pockets of nature provides a literal breath of fresh air. Spending time in nature calms and relaxes, and offers many proven physical and mental health benefits.
Research has found that those with access to green spaces have lower rates of anxiety, depression, and mental distress.
In wealthier economies, green spaces can be found in their largest cities, such as Central Park in New York City, the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and Kew Gardens in London.
In addition to the health and well-being benefits offered by green spaces, they encourage social interaction, foster a sense of community, promote physical exercise and an active lifestyle, all of which contribute to a higher quality of life.
This is not the case in many developing and poor countries. In Bangladesh, green public spaces are scarce. Its urban areas are choked with buildings, in its villages, where there are more open spaces, parks remain absent, or worse, they’re not functional.
In Bangladesh’s capital city, Dhaka, where congestion, pollution, and stress are part of daily life, functional green spaces will offer much-needed relief to its residents.
However, according to Mission Green Bangladesh, green areas have been shrinking in recent years due to unplanned urbanization and infrastructure development, raising concerns among environmentalists, urban planners, and citizens.
The country’s Department of Environment reports that Dhaka’s green space falls short of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended minimum of 9 square meters per person, at less than 2 square meters per person.
Green spaces and parks that remain suffer from poor maintenance due to inadequate funding; in some cases, they have become dumping grounds for waste.
A 2024 study published in the Journal of Design for Resilience in Architecture & Planning explores the challenges and opportunities of urban parks in developing countries through a comparative analysis of two emblematic cases in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
The study notes that as cities in developing countries undergo rapid urbanization, the need for urban parks and green spaces becomes more pronounced.
Cities in developing countries often face overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, and a lack of basic amenities, and green spaces can serve as oases of tranquillity and recreation that citizens badly need.
Green spaces are important for reducing the negative effects of urbanization, like air and water pollution. However, urban parks in countries such as Ethiopia face several challenges. They often have limited resources, inadequate planning, and poor management.
These issues prevent the parks from reaching their full potential. The study offers recommendations to improve urban parks. It aims to guide urban planners and policymakers.
A new urban planning guideline, the 3–30–300 green space rule, was developed based on urban health research, particularly on what healthy, livable cities should look like.
This guideline suggests the three levels of access to nature. Although this rule is mostly discussed in developed countries, it is unclear whether it is feasible in developing countries.
The 3–30–300 rule suggests that cities should have: 3 trees visible from every building, 30% tree cover in each neighborhood, and parks (at least 0.5 hectares) within 300 meters of every home.
A study, “Parks Please! Implementing the 3–30-300 green space rule in developing countries − The case of Surakarta, Indonesia”, published in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening in May 2025, tested this rule in Surakarta, Indonesia, an intermediate city recognized as Indonesia’s most livable city.
Researchers used satellite images, government records, and open-source global datasets to assess tree canopy cover, green space distribution, and accessibility to these green spaces.
Their findings show that the city falls short of the 3–30–300 green space rule: only 29% of buildings have tree visibility, only 2% are in neighborhoods with 30% tree cover, and only 25% are within 300 meters of a park. However, if all parks have no fences, are open to everyone, and are well-maintained, accessibility could jump to 79%.
The study shows the 3–30–300 rule could be a useful target for Indonesian cities, but it would require both creating more green spaces and making existing ones more accessible. They provide specific recommendations for different neighborhoods and suggest that this framework could help guide urban planning policy.
As cities in developing countries continue to grow rapidly, the 3–30–300 green space rule offers a practical framework to ensure urban residents don’t lose access to nature.
Given the health, social, and environmental costs of urban areas devoid of nature, the question is whether or not cities can afford to prioritize green space.
Investing in and integrating green spaces into urban planning is a crucial step toward making cities more livable and equitable for all residents.
Source:
Pasha, G. (2025, October 15). Parks without purpose: symbolic infrastructure and the politics of visibility. Dev Policy Blog. Retrieved from https://devpolicy.org/parks-without-purpose-symbolic-infrastructure-and-the-politics-of-visibility-20251015/
Graham, C. (2024, April 13). What are green spaces, and why are they important? Unyoked. Retrieved from https://unyoked.co/wellness/what-are-green-spaces
Urban Green Spaces in Dhaka: Importance and Preservation. (2025, June 13). Mission Green Bangladesh. Retrieved from https://missiongreenbd.com/blog-details/urban-green-spaces-in-dhaka-importance-and-preservation
Kebede, B.G., Yücel Besim, D., 2024. Urban parks in developing countries: Challenges and opportunities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Journal of Design for Resilience in Architecture and Planning 5, 269–286. https://doi.org/10.47818/drarch.2024.v5i2131
Iqbal, L. M., Njaim, G. A., Vos, D., & Permana, C. T. H. (2025). Parks Please! Implementing the 3–30-300 green space rule in developing countries − The case of Surakarta, Indonesia. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 107, 128797. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128797
PHOTO CREDIT: Partial view of Addis Ababa skyline from Sheger park By DaneyWiki – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=95630855
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