Can We Barter Local Taxes for Maintaining Our Green? A Psychological Perspective.

Annalisa Theodorou,Giuseppe Carrus,Emanuela Masini,Angelo Panno,Mariagrazia Agrimi

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.816217

Annalisa Theodorou, Giuseppe Carrus + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.816217

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Abstract

Previous research highlighted that the desire for neighborhood improvement is an antecedent of the citizens’ involvement in green urban areas maintenance. Nevertheless, the topic of civic participation in the maintenance of green areas is not yet well developed in the literature and a link with local legislation is missing. We investigate the intention of participation in such maintenance through a web-based experiment. We hypothesize that stimuli of poor (vs. good) maintenance will be associated with a higher intention of contributing to the upkeep of green areas following the administrative barter law. The administrative barter is a law approved in Italy, which gives citizens the possibility of a reduction of local taxes in exchange for their involvement in the improvement of the territory. One hundred ninety-six participants (Mage = 33.81) were assigned randomly to good maintenance condition (n = 100) or poor maintenance condition (n = 96). The level of maintenance was manipulated through photographs of a neighborhood depicting good or poor maintenance of the urban green ornamentation. Results pointed out that people showed a greater willingness to engage in the improvement of green urban areas in the poor condition as compared to the good condition, according to the administrative barter law. This study suggests that local legislation may provide an incentive fostering citizens’ involvement in green urban areas maintenance.

Highlights

The cities’ landscapes are changing as the awareness of the importance of green in urban areas for people’s lives is increasing
Urban greenspace has been associated with greater physical activity and longevity
The benefits are not limited to the individual alone; the presence of natural elements in the urban ecosystem was found to enhance a sense of community, social relationships among residents, and Residents’ Involvement in Green Maintenance even to lower criminality (Kuo and Sullivan, 2001; Donovan and Prestemon, 2012; van Dillen et al, 2012)

Summary

Introduction

The cities’ landscapes are changing as the awareness of the importance of green in urban areas for people’s lives is increasing. The trees of avenues, parks, and gardens, originally created for ornamental purposes, play an important role in urban life for their ability to enhance individuals’ physical health as well as socio-psychological well-being (Tzoulas et al, 2007; van Dillen et al, 2012). The benefits are not limited to the individual alone; the presence of natural elements in the urban ecosystem was found to enhance a sense of community, social relationships among residents, and Residents’ Involvement in Green Maintenance even to lower criminality (Kuo and Sullivan, 2001; Donovan and Prestemon, 2012; van Dillen et al, 2012). Benefits for residents pass through the role of urban forests and trees as Nature-Based Solutions, namely adaptation strategies to many urban environmental problems, such as local cooling, air pollution reduction, and urban stormwater runoff management (Mullaney et al, 2015)

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