Relationship between landscape structure and neighborhood satisfaction in urbanized areas

Abstract

Humans are an integral part of landscapes in landscape ecology. Theories and models of human–environment relationships suggest that human perception is essential to understand the interlocking relationship between humans and landscapes. This is particularly evident in urbanized areas. In the theories and models in landscape ecology suggesting close relationships between humans and landscapes, human perception of landscape structure hypothetically links ecosystems with many human responses and activities, including land-use decisions, landscape planning, landscape management, and preferences. Here, we attempted to understand the relationship between landscape structure and neighborhood satisfaction, which is a perceptual construct of residents. Neighborhood satisfaction was measured using a mail-out survey to single-family households in the city of College Station, TX, and landscape structures for respondents were also measured at a micro-neighborhood scale with a radius of 750 ft (229 m), an intermediate-neighborhood scale with a radius of 1500 ft (457 m), and a macro-neighborhood scale with a radius of 3000 ft (914 m). To measure the landscape structures around respondents’ home, we used IKONOS multispectral images with 4 m resolution and panchromatic images with 1 m resolution. We delineated the landscape structure using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) method. The neighborhood satisfaction of residents was associated with selected landscape structure indices. Specifically, it was more likely to be high when tree patches in neighborhood environments were less fragmented, less isolated, and well connected. Variety in the size and shape of tree patches also showed a positive relationship with neighborhood satisfaction. Interestingly, these relationships became stronger as the neighborhood scale increased. Under a hypothetical framework with theories and models in landscape ecology, landscape preference and neighborhood satisfaction, results of the present study provide insights into planning and management strategies for residential environments enhancing both neighborhood satisfaction of residents and ecological functions.