Landsenses ecology approach for comprehensive assessment of cultural ecosystem services: preferences of students at Ankara University of Turkey

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate and spatially represent university students’ perception of cultural ecosystem services in the urban public space of Ankara, Turkey in relation to the ‘landsenses ecology’ framework. A questionnaire survey was administered to randomly selected students studying landscape architecture at Ankara University via the Google Forms electronic survey. For mapping, the Urban Atlas Project 2018 data were used to show the connection between CES and the land-use types. A hot-spot map was created for spatial assessment of CES using Kernel density estimation. Within the study area, the students marked 87 favourite places. The city centre (Kızılay) was marked as the most significant place to visit by the students. Yet, the majority (63%) of the participants marked an urban green space as their favourite place. Spending time with family and friends was the most selected activity in the rankings with a mean score of 4.90 (SD = 4.10). The hot-spot map indicated that grey infrastructure areas generate CES values as well. Within the perspective of landsenses ecology – where psychological and cultural perception is emphasized – understanding and identifying these values and their specific localizations can be useful in urban landscape management, especially to encourage young people’s involvement in daily urban space.