ANNOUNCEMENTS
The present study is an attempt to assess and evaluate the status and distribution of urban green spaces in Vishakhapatnam over the 30 years of time period. Urban green spaces (UGS) play a vital role in maintaining environmental quality and mitigating the impacts of urban heat and land degradation. This study assesses spatio-temporal changes in green cover from 1990 to 2024, evaluates the risk posed to UGS by surrounding built-up activities, and investigates the relationship between UGS and land surface temperature (LST). Multi-temporal Landsat imagery was used to derive NDVI, NDBI, and LST maps, while Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) was employed to assess risk based on parameters such as proximity to industries, roads, ports, and LULC classes. The gradual depletion of urban green spaces, largely due to increasing population pressure and urban expansion, has resulted in the land use land cover change (LULC) and has altered the micro-climate of the urban ecosystem. Findings reveal a significant decline in dense vegetation, especially in areas near industrial and port zones. Between 1990 and 2024, high-risk zones to UGS expanded by over 30%, primarily concentrated in the city core and industrial belts. Simultaneously, a clear inverse relationship was observed between green cover and LST zones with higher vegetation showed reduced minimum and maximum surface temperatures, emphasizing the cooling role of green areas. Despite these challenges, Visakhapatnam still retains substantial patches of permanent green cover, and recent government initiatives are actively aiming to expand UGS in the urban landscape. This study offers valuable insights for sustainable urban planning, highlighting the need for strategic restoration and expansion of green networks, especially in risk-prone and heat-stressed zones. It underscores the ecological urgency of protecting existing green spaces while designing future UGS corridors to enhance urban resilience and livability.
Keywords: Urban Green Spaces, Fuzzy Analytics Hierarchical Process, Land surface Temperature, NDVI, NDBI, Vishakhapatnam.
