DUAL-PURPOSE URBAN GREEN SPACES: INTEGRATING BOTANICAL, WILDLIFE, AND PHYSIOTHERAPY FUNCTIONALITY

Abstract

It is beginning to dawn on people that urban green areas are beneficial to nature and they can even make people feel good.  A combination of the methods is applied in this study to examine the extent to which multi-purpose urban green spaces that aid in animal keeping, have diverse vegetation and have physiotherapeutic benefits are designed and operationalized.  Our measure of 10 urban parks was through the use of biodiversity indices, motion-sensor wildlife tracking and walking trials on the participants. Body physiology variables as heart rate variability and WHO-5 well-being scales were measured during these trials.  The findings indicated that locations with higher species of plants (Shannon Index > 2.5) recorded higher species diversity and significant improvement in health condition, including a reduction of 15% systolic pressure and increasing felt well-being by 20 percent.  Canopy density and native flora were also associated with the existence of wildlife, which demonstrates the significance of organised planting in the environment of the urban architecture.  The qualitative data provided by 25 expert interviews allowed us to see that everybody supported the necessity of multidisciplinary frameworks linking ecological planning to landscape design of therapeutic gardens.  In measuring the quality of each site, we came up with a compound performance index, which depends on the botanical, ecological and medicinal qualities.  The findings indicate the significance of adding dual purpose activity in city green planning. It is an eco-friendly urban design paradigm or people health.  This way does not only contribute to biodiversity protection and can make cities more resilient to climate change but also provides accessible (confined to a city) and non-medicine-based approaches to mental and physical urban healing.