The influence of green space on community attachment of urban and suburban residents

Abstract

Although community attachment and urban green space provide many benefits to local residents, the relationship between them seems to be unknown. The aim of the study was to analyse this relationship. The objective was to investigate the influence of public green space and recreation behaviour on community attachment and explore differences in community attachment between urban and suburban residents of the Vienna region. To a large degree, both study areas border on, and share, the same recreation areas along the Danube River and are subject to urban sprawl. A mail survey was carried out in 2006 to ask local residents (N=602) about community green space, recreation behaviour, community qualities, ownership of private green space and community attachment. Urban residents showed higher community attachment, valued the community green space higher and perceived a better quality of life in their community than the suburban sample. Regression analysis identified perceived green space supply and qualities, recreation behaviour, and residential variables predicting community attachment. Different predictors were found for the community attachment of the samples, while several public green space-related items were consistent and strong predictors. The study findings suggest that the perceived supply and quality of green space can foster community attachment.