The impact of plants offering cover on female students’ perception of danger in urban green spaces in crime hot spots

Aleksandra Lis,Łukasz Pardela,Antal Haans,Paweł Iwankowski

doi:10.3097/lo.202191

Aleksandra Lis, Łukasz Pardela + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3097/lo.202191

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Abstract

Urban parks and forests are important for wellbeing, but feelings of unsafety limited their usage. Removal of vegetation from hotspots of fear is sometimes recommended as a means of boosting safety. However such actions should be approached with caution. One explanation, based on prospect-refuge theory, is that plants increase perceptions of danger because of their contribution to a setting’s effectiveness in concealing criminals. It is also believed that people do not like urban green spaces parks containing trees and shrubs that can act as hiding places because of the sense of danger that this vegetation evokes. To test this explanation, participants rated 57 photos of urban parks and forest parks settings park settings on perceived danger, effectiveness of concealment, and landscape preference. In addition, the effectiveness of concealment in the photos was measured assuming that the value of this variable is expressed by the percentage of the pixels occupied by trees and shrubs offering concealment in a photograph. Results confirmed that concealment and danger are highly correlated mediation analysis confirmed that the impact of concealment on preferences can be explained by perceived danger. When the danger was controlled, the efficiency of concealment had no influence on preferences.

Highlights

The importance of urban green spaces for health and well-being have been well established (Chang et al 2021; Ayala-Azcárrag et al 2019; Gramkow et al 2021; Stier-Jarmer et al 2021)
We found the effectiveness of concealment to correlate very strongly with the perception of danger – both when it was assessed by the respondents and when it was measured in the photos
Studies demonstrating a negative impact of vegetation on the sense of safety have frequently advised to avoid using plants that limit visibility (Hami et al 2014; Kuo et al 1998)

Summary

Introduction

The importance of urban green spaces for health and well-being have been well established (Chang et al 2021; Ayala-Azcárrag et al 2019; Gramkow et al 2021; Stier-Jarmer et al 2021). A number of studies based on the Biophilia hypothesis (Wilson 1984), Attention Restoration Theory (ART) (Kaplan and Kaplan 1989) and the Stress Reduction Theory (Ulrich 1983) provided empirical evidence that wildlife has multiple benefits for human health and well-being (Berto 2005; Hartig et al 2014; Jarvis et al 2020; Laumann et al 2001; Qiu et al 2021). EDS is defined as the negative impact of nature on human well-being – functions or properties of ecosystems that produce effects that are perceived as harmful, unpleasant or unwanted (Wu et al 2020; Blanco et al 2019)

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