Green spaces in a new urban extension: Case of Hay Mohammadi in Agadir

Green spaces are essential to alleviate many constraints related to the urban context of today's cities, be they environmental, social or economic, thanks to the combination of ecosystem services and the feeling of well-being that they provide. The study of the green space’s situation in the Mohammadi district, in Agadir, aims to assess the quantity and quality of available green spaces but also the degree of satisfaction of the requirements and aspirations of inhabitants and to identify the main criteria that affect their appreciation by users. Several factors can influence the availability and attractiveness of green spaces such as type and size, fragmentation, accessibility and diversification of activities and facilities in these spaces. The results show that current green spaces only provide 5.5 m²/inhabitant and therefore do not reach the recommended minimum (10 m²/inhabitant). The high fragmentation of certain categories of green spaces such as those accompanying streets or buildings and the inequitable distribution of these spaces as well as the lack of amenities affect their use and their capacity to provide most of the ecosystem services. The perception of green spaces in the neighborhood by users supports these results. Indeed, according to them these spaces are not in sufficient quantity and do not allow to satisfy their needs and their aspirations in terms of quality, diversification and availability of equipment and services. They also consider that they are not available near their places of residence. However, the study of the neighborhood development plan has shown that projected green spaces, once totally implemented, will provide the population with a ratio of 12.4 m² per inhabitant.

Keywords: Green spaces, Hay Mohammadi, Agadir, Ecosystem services; quality, ratio, appreciation by inhabitants