Public green areas and urban environmental quality of the city of São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil.

Assess the state of public green areas, their importance and influence on environmental quality and living in urban centers is an arduous task considering the conceptual and scientific regarding quantification and data analysis methods divergence. In this study, we aimed to determine two indicators of public green areas relative to the percentage of public green areas (PPGA) and the public green areas index (PGAI) in the urban area of São Carlos, SP. The study area was organized into administrative regions (ARs), using satellite images, topographical maps of 1:10,000 Geographic and Cartographic Institute (1990) and data provided by the Municipality of São Carlos. The results show that public green areas comprise 6.55% of the municipality, with a public green areas index (PGAI) of 18.85 m2/inhabitant, indicating good urban environmental quality when compared to rates of 15 m2/capita for public green areas for recreation, suggested by the Brazilian Society of Urban Forestry. The differences between the administrative regions are concern with situations from 4.16 to 36.30 m2/inhabitant. In this context, it is recommend specific public policies and popular participation in the process of continuous improvement for increasing public green areas in the less favored regions. The Genebrino method applied to indicators of public green areas (GPGA - amount of public green areas divided by population density), showed a commendable goal above 40% for urban environmental quality.