URBAN GREEN SPACES ACCESSIBILITY: THE CURRENT STATE IN NIAMEY CITY, NIGER

The high rate of urbanization noticed at the global, regional, and national level, increases the land, energy, and water demand with adverse effects on the environment, thereby decreasing residents' wellbeing and resilience. In this regard, the urban green spaces are perceived as one of the means to make the cities more resilient and sustainable to face climate change. However, the urban green spaces are not accessible for the majority of citizens in many African cities, especially in Niamey where the most important green space i.e. green belt has deteriorated. Therefore, this study aims to analyze urban green spaces accessibility according to WHO minimum standard in Niamey city to get insight into their current state. For this, qualitative and quantitative analyses are conducted from the per capita green index, the distance to green spaces, and the urban green spaces quality aspects using the primary, secondary, and geospatial data, and the personal field observations. The results revealed that the urban green spaces per capita in Niamey city is equal to 6.04 m2 less than the minimum standard of 9 m2 defined by WHO; thereby the demand gap is estimated at 4,043,143.92 m2. This per capita green index differs from one commune to another; with respectively 0.155m2, 0.242 m2 , 2.30 m2 , 21 m2, and 0.008 m2 for commune I, II, III, IV, and V, meaning that the urban green spaces are unevenly accessible across the city. We also found that 58.46% of the respondents do not reach the urban green spaces within 15 minutes of walking distance. This situation coupled with the urban green spaces' quality aspects proved their bad condition. The study suggested that to enhance urban green spaces accessibility and thereby improve the current state of the urban green spaces, the city authorities should enhance the investment in greening projects, create a synergy of action in greening projects, and fight against corruption in parcel allotment.