The sense of place is a multidimensional construct that evokes an emotional commitment to a specific geographic setting. It can be a crucial aspect of cultural ecosystem services. While social media has gained popularity as a tool for assessing ecosystem services, its effectiveness in capturing a sense of place, its impact on cultural ecosystem services, and its role in the landscape design process remains less certain. This study investigates the role of urban parks in shaping the sense of place by analyzing user-generated content from a specific social media platform (Twitter). We gathered tweets from 30 diverse urban parks in Chicago, covering various park types, sizes, shapes, and management styles. Our analysis reveals multiple facets of the sense of place associated with urban parks. We suggest that a sense of place is not solely rooted in the attachment to physical surroundings but also in the personal experiences individuals encounter within these spaces. Residents residing near parks tend to develop a sense of ownership and responsibility, leading to stronger emotional bonds with their environment. Urban parks foster community engagement, enhance social cohesion, and offer opportunities for nature-based experiences. Furthermore, this study underscores the significance of diverse park features, accessibility, and size in bolstering place attachment. Our research demonstrates the potential for geoinformation analysis in the geodesign process as a cost-effective and scalable approach for understanding the person–place connection.

Tranquility is typically associated with low noise levels and remote natural areas. Various methods for preserving potentially tranquil places have been proposed, although these typically involve setting aside places with low noise levels located in remote areas. To gain the benefits of tranquility in accessible urban areas, we need to identify the characteristics of tranquil spaces. This study focuses on the landscape-based, visual aspects of the phenomena. We investigated the role of visual context using a nationwide dataset of crowdsourced photographs from Sweden. Text mining identified personal perception and accompanying photographs identified the physical features. The photographs were characterized by time period and landscape conditions using computer vision technology. We found that waterbodies consistently enhanced tranquil views, while grass, flowers, and other dense vegetation were generally not well connected. Trees were positively correlated during daylight hours but had a negative impact at night. Dynamic objects such as people and vehicles were negatively associated, potentially due to aural considerations. Their effect was less significant during hours when noise would generally be less of a factor. This study provides insights for future research and design practices aimed at promoting tranquil experiences in urban environments and demonstrates the potential for crowdsourced data to help understand the qualities of built environments as perceived by the public.

This study presents a refined approach to spatially identify carbon sequestration assets, crucial for effective climate action planning in Illinois. By integrating landscape analytical methods with species-specific carbon assessment techniques, we deliver a nuanced evaluation of forest area sequestration potential. Our methodology employs a combination of landscape imagery, deep learning analytics, Kriging interpolation, and i-Tree Planting tools to process forest sample data. The results reveal a spatial variability in sequestration capacities, highlighting significant carbon sinks in southern Illinois. This region, known for its historical woodland richness, showcases the distinct carbon sequestration abilities of various tree species. Findings emphasize the role of biodiversity in the carbon cycle and provide actionable insights for forest management and carbon neutral strategies. This study demonstrates the utility of advanced spatial analysis in environmental research, underscoring its potential to enhance accuracy in ecological quantification and conservation efforts.

Understanding how green spaces foster sense of place is critical for sustainable urban planning and human well-being, yet no comprehensive synthesis has integrated findings across the fragmented literature spanning multiple disciplines. This systematic review analyzed 497 empirical studies examining green space-place attachment relationships, following PRISMA guidelines across three major databases through June 2025. Beyond documenting the field’s rapid growth—from 10 annual publications pre-2010 to over 50 by 2021—this review reveals critical patterns and gaps with implications for theory and practice. While the term ‘place attachment’ was most frequently used (45% of studies), the field employs diverse terminology often without clear definitional boundaries. Only 18% comprehensively addressed the Person-Process-Place tripartite model, with process dimensions particularly neglected. This theoretical incompleteness limits the understanding of how attachments form and evolve. Geographic analysis exposed severe disparities: 78% of studies originated from high-income countries, with Africa (2.4%) and South America (3.6%) critically underrepresented, raising questions about the applicability of current theories beyond Western contexts. Urban settings dominated (49.5%), potentially overlooking rural and indigenous perspectives essential for comprehensive understanding. Methodologically, studies demonstrated sophistication through strategic deployment of quantitative (60%), qualitative (15%), and mixed methods (25%). Key thematic areas, residence duration, restorative benefits, and pro-environmental behaviors, showed promise, yet environmental justice remained underexplored despite its critical importance. This synthesis advances the field by identifying specific pathways for progress: expanding geographic representation to develop culturally inclusive theories, employing longitudinal designs to capture attachment formation processes, developing validated cross-cultural measures, and centering environmental justice in green space planning. These findings provide essential guidance for creating equitable green spaces that foster meaningful human-nature connections across diverse global contexts.