Rapid urbanization and persistent air pollution threaten the functional resilience of megacities in Southeast Asia, particularly Bangkok, where PM2.5 concentrations consistently exceed World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. To strengthen urban adaptive capacity, this study investigates the role of Nature-based Solutions (NbS), particularly urban green spaces, as resilience-oriented infrastructure for air quality management. Using data from 32 monitoring stations across the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and surrounding areas from 2021 to 2023, spatial and temporal trends in PM2.5 concentrations were analyzed through geostatistical modeling and inferential statistics. Although all sites exceeded the WHO PM2.5 guideline of 5 µg/m3, larger and more connected green spaces consistently exhibited better air-quality than the surrounding non-green urban mosaic. Areas with extensive vegetation, greater canopy cover, and more compact park geometries (lower perimeter-to-area ratios) demonstrated improved pollution attenuation capacity, while fragmented parks are more exposed to surrounding emissions. Integration of Local Climate Zone (LCZ) classification further indicated that compact high-rise zones and high-traffic corridors exhibited higher PM2.5 levels due to reduced airflow and structural confinement. The study underscores the need to embed NbS within resilience-based urban planning to promote long-term environmental stability and public health recovery in rapidly urbanizing megacities like Bangkok.
Aung et al. (Wed,) studied this question.