Dynamics of Green Areas in St. Petersburg and Adaptation to Climate Change

This paper explores the important role that the green infrastructure, i.e. the greenspace network, of a city can play in adapting for climate change. Significant differences in the overall greenness of Russia’s largest urban agglomerations have been demonstrated. It uses the conurbation of Saint-Petersburg (Russia) as a case study site. The analysis of the dynamics of green spaces was carried out on the basis of satellite images of Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 for the period 2002–2018. A normalized vegetation index (NDVI) was used for quantification. Maps of the spatial distribution of NDVI were constructed over the observation period. Various climate change scenarios are also considered. Various risks for St. Petersburg in connection with possible climate changes are considered.