Sustainability, Greenspace and Nature Deficit in Las Vegas, Nevada

Abstract

Nature deficit occurs when people, especially children, spend less time outdoors. Nature deficit often results in a wide range of behavioral issues, and people living in urban areas are more apt to have nature deficit. The literature suggests potential relationships of nature deficit to commitments toward sustainability. Expanding the awareness of the perceived connectivity of greenspaces, nature deficit, and attitudes about sustainability are important. Geospatial technologies, such as Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing, can accurately map green spaces in urban and suburban areas. This chapter describes some of the tools and techniques used to map these areas. Mapping green spaces in urban areas can be as simple as setting a threshold of vegetation index values to determine greenspace. In this chapter we use remote sensing data and techniques to map out vegetation and greenspaces throughout the Las Vegas metropolitan area in 1985 and 2014. Specifically, the percentage of greenspace in Las Vegas has decreased by about 2.5 % in 29 years. Studies like this can help planners, geographers, and others to understand the spatial dimensions of urban greenspace, and help them to promote vegetation throughout entire urban areas – especially those areas that are deemed to not have adequate greenspace. However, further research needs to be conducted on how residents in desert areas, like Las Vegas, perceive nature (it is green?), how the desert urban landscape influences people, the contributions of desert landscape exposure to perceptions of environmental sustainability, and potential outcomes from contact with nature different in desert environments.