Diverging perceptions by social groups on cultural ecosystem services provided by urban green

Abstract

Global environmental and social changes will have great impact on the development of cities in the coming decades. Impacts of climate change, demographic shifts and conservation of biodiversity should be incorporated into urban green space planning to balance for the increasing development pressure of cities. Urban green spaces provide multiple ecosystem service benefits to diverse social groups. In this paper, we analyzed inhabitant perceptions of cultural ecosystem services provided by urban green spaces in the city of Berlin based on a face-to-face questionnaire (n = 558). As analysis tool, we used proportionate cluster sampling and focused on non-monetary statements on the perceived importance of a broad spectrum of cultural ecosystem services. Results show that cultural ecosystem services can be perceived through bundles and that those bundles may have negative influence on each other. The perceived importance of cultural ecosystem services was influenced by spatial and social factors: Older inhabitants living in periurban areas preferred cultural ecosystem services related to nature experiences. Younger inner city dwellers tended to prefer cultural ecosystem services facilitating social interactions. Those diverging perceptions should to be taken into account through urban development strategies to create a socially just and sustainable city planning in the face of global environmental changes. The ecosystem service framework can be one tool to facilitate a more participatory planning process to find solutions for urban sustainability challenges.