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Green space factor – how does it work?

August 24th, 2021

The green space factor (GSF) – sometimes called an urban greening factor or green area factor – is a way of calculating green space requirements for new developments.

The Green Space Factor (GSF) is a tool which allocates a score to different types of surfaces based on infiltration potential, which is used as a proxy for ecosystems services provided by the different surfaces, e.g. cooling, air quality, biodiversity.

GSF measures typically give each square metre of the tarmacked car park a score of zero and every square metre left as open meadow a value of one. Other spaces can earn higher or lower scores. In Malmö, a pond or stormwater system filled with water for more than half the year also scores one, a permeable gravel area with some plants has a value of 0.4, and paved areas designed to channel stormwater into sustainable drainage systems score 0.2.

These numbers are added up and divided by the total area of the development to give a score. Cities may demand that each development reaches a minimum target, typically 0.3.

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