Urban Squares Under Pressure: A Scoping Review of Conservation Targets, Direct Threats and Conservation Actions

Urban squares remain underrepresented in conservation-oriented literature compared with parks, street trees and green infrastructure. This scoping review uses CS-derived categories as an analytical lens to examine how the literature on urban squares frames conservation targets, direct threats, contributing factors and conservation actions. Following PRISMA-ScR, we searched Scopus and Web of Science for English-language peer-reviewed articles (2014–2024). After screening, 69 studies were included. Full texts were coded into CS-derived components and synthesised through frequency distributions, a cross-case conceptual synthesis, and an exploratory clustering of recurrent CF-DT-CT configurations. The reviewed literature is strongly centred on human-centred outcomes, particularly health, air quality and water quality, while biodiversity-related targets remain comparatively underrepresented. The most frequently investigated direct threats are pollution-related and linked to natural system management and modification, whereas other pressures are addressed less consistently. Contributing factors are dominated by meteorological conditions and vegetation coverage and composition. Reported conservation actions emphasise monitoring technologies, regulatory policy and green infrastructure, while others receive limited attention. Together, these analytical steps help make recurrent pathways and underrepresented dimensions more explicit, providing a more transparent evidence base for context-sensitive urban planning and nature-based solutions.