Urban green space availability in Bathinda City, India

This paper aims to investigate and map the spatial distribution of urban green spaces (UGSs) in Bathinda City, India. Since urban green spaces affect the quality of life and provide various ecological, socio-cultural and economic benefits to a city, the spatial distribution of UGSs and per capita availability deserve greater consideration in urban planning and research. The UGSs are extracted from freely available Sentinel 2 image with spatial resolutions of 10 m (blue, green, red, and near infrared bands). The result indicates that the planned urban setups have higher area under UGSs as compared to the rest of the city. Analysis and intra-city comparison (ward wise) of distribution of green spaces and per capita availability indicate that there is an inequitable distribution of UGSs in Bathinda City. The study also attempts to accentuate the scope of green initiatives in the various wards of the city to ensure the well-being of people.