**1. Introduction**

Living in the era of Anthropocene, returning to nature-based solutions seems like a necessary approach to deal with growing challenges concerning climate change and the biodiversity loss. In cities, such an approach has been underpinned by the advancement of urban greenery, considered an essential tool to help mitigate adverse impacts caused by rapid urban development. Under the circumstance that the population in urban areas are increasingly growing, greenery in cities with diverse space components, such as parks, gardens, and green walls, has been shouldering noteworthiness in urban forms. It contributes to cooling cities [1, 2], providing comfort [3] and other major interests for cities' health [4, 5], economy [6–8], and ecosystems [9]. Psychological research extends the studies of urban greenery to its non-physical contribution. It demonstrates the effectiveness of greenery in releasing negative individual emotions [10–12].

Indeed, urban greenery benefiting social well-being, more explicitly speaking, social cohesion and integration, has been discussed from another perspective.

#### **Figure 1.**

*District 9 in the west of Zürich consists of Altstetten and Albisrieden.*

Public green spaces with amenities can encourage outdoor activities and dwellers' interactions, hence, better life satisfaction and enhanced social integration [13, 14]. However, well-equipped green spaces with high aesthetic value may not promise frequent space use: design features and space attributes must concert ensemble to obtain full performance [15]. Many factors act in the course, for instance, proximity to residential buildings, accessibility, functions, size and person-to-person engagement [16]. However, methods employed to investigate such factors are usually questionnaire surveys and interviews. The discrepancy between practical and individual perception requests a measure combining quantitative and qualitative analysis.

To address such a gap, this study, as a part of a research module, Dense and Green Cities1 , aims to analyse urban greenery's potential to improve social integration in the Altstetten–Albisrieden district. Located west of Zürich, the district covers 12.1 km<sup>2</sup> and extends from the Limmat River to the Uetiliberg Foothills (**Figure 1**). Altstetten-Albisrieden has a large diversity of building types, urban forms, and, hence, diverse green areas, developed in different ages, such as single-family houses, low-rise multifamily buildings, and high-rise buildings completed in the last ten years. Following the predicted urban development scenario that Zürich's population would increase by more than 20% by 2040, Altstetten–Albisrieden confronts the severe challenge of housing another 13,000 residents. Such growing urban population and, consequently, rising urban densification needs comprehensive knowledge and approaches to improve social integration from various backgrounds.

The study first compiled urban greenery data derived from the open-source data of Zürich and Open Street Map to illustrate green space distribution and structure.

<sup>1</sup> 'Dense and Green Cities' is one of 13 research modules of the Future Cities Lab (FCL) Global programme, a research platform aimed at bringing transdisciplinary perspectives on shaping sustainable cities and settlement systems. 'Dense and Green Cities' explores the development of sustainable integrated districts (SIDs), as model for high-density high-liveability future cities, attending not only to the factors for the successful implementation of SIDs but also to planning instruments and governance arrangements that enable such developments in different socio-spatial contexts. For more information, please visit: (https://fcl.ethz. ch/research/cycles-and-districts/dense-and-green-cities.html).

*Urban Greenery as a Tool to Enhance Social Integration? A Case Study of Altstetten-Albisrieden... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109736*

Four public green space clusters were chosen as subsite cases. An onsite observation regarding space use activities and green space features was applied in these subsite cases. The study reviewed the general performance of public green spaces from the perspective of space structure network and distribution. Further discussion based on observation unveiled the relations between green space structure and community integration. In the end, the study concluded with some remarks on green space design and planning observed through the lens of social integration.
