Ecological Urban Parks for Climate Resilience: A Systematic Review of Design, Equity, and Sustainability

Abstract

Cities are facing rising heat stress, flooding pressure, ecological fragmentation, and uneven access to green space, yet the literature on ecological urban parks often treats environmental performance, social equity, and governance as separate concerns. This systematic review addresses that fragmentation by examining how park design can simultaneously support climate resilience, distributive justice, and urban sustainability. Following PRISMA 2020 guidance, we reviewed peer-reviewed journal articles indexed in Scopus and published between 2020 and 2025. From 464 records identified through keyword searches and subsequent screening, 39 studies were selected for detailed thematic synthesis. The review shows that ecological urban parks can reduce urban heat, improve stormwater retention, enhance air quality, and support biodiversity, but their effectiveness depends strongly on park size, vegetation structure, water elements, and local urban context. The evidence also reveals persistent inequalities in access, quality, and participation, especially for lower-income, peripheral, migrant, and elderly groups. Participatory design approaches, including digital monitoring, big-data analytics, and community-based planning, can improve responsiveness and stewardship, although they remain constrained by institutional capacity, cost, and technical complexity. Across the reviewed studies, park typologies that integrate ecological, cultural, educational, and recreational functions appear more robust than single-purpose models. The literature remains geographically uneven and heavily reliant on modelling and simulation. Overall, the review argues that climate-resilient urban parks require context-specific design, explicit equity commitments, and stronger empirical validation in future research.