ABSTRACT
In this chapter, policies related to urban green space at different spatial scales are discussed; this draws on theories and cases to present in-depth analyses of the ultimate goals of urban green space planning and the public health infrastructure related to it. First, climate change is introduced along with potential ways to improve the situation such as making healthy policies related to urban greening, influencing different plans for natural places across Asian-Pacific countries, and improving their effects on human health. Healthy infrastructures are next examined from various perspectives: at the country level, topics related to national spatial planning are discussed with examples relating to how countries develop their policies to deal with climate change and air pollution. For discussions related to public health infrastructures at the small scale (such as green roofs, green walls, and coverage with green upgrades), medium scale (such as neighborhood and street greening), and large scale (such as urban parks, urban green belts, and wind tunnels in the city), the case studies are provided with applications for each scale. Urban greening policies related to health in Pacific Rim countries such as China, Singapore, and Australia have been introduced, which we highlight in the following sections. The main strategies for dealing with urban heat and air pollution at the country level involve (a) afforestation, or returning farmland to forests and grasslands; and (b) creating a high degree of architectural greening and green space systems to maintain urban biodiversity and create a more livable environment.
