Study on the Fire-Protection: Characteristics of Green Spaces in Central Sakai City

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to include among close-at-hand shelter zones urban green spaces other
than parks, and to examine the safety that those spaces provide against fi res in terms of lot size,
tree coverage ratio, and the fi re-protection functions of trees. For our study we chose the district in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture. This study found that because the tree coverage ratio, which affects a shelter zone’s defense against fi re, is changed by the effect of the tree canopy and not by lot size, it is necessary to use methods which ensure a good crown spread, such as planting tree species whose crowns spread well, improving pruning methods, and planting trees closer to the center of a lot. Our study also found that despite the small sizes of lots, many good fi re-protection tree species had been planted.