Perceptions Of Green Space Research Articles

The impact of the primary colours yellow, red and, blue on the perception of greenery

Colourful flowers and artefacts are frequently used in modern landscape architecture and in site-specific artwork. Despite this, there is limited empirically substantiated understanding of the impact of colour on perceptions of the soft, changing green colour palette of surrounding vegetation, and thus the overall colour perception of green spaces. Applying the CIE 1976 (L*a*b*) colour space, this study showed that the presence of artefacts with different primary colours, shape, size and position significantly changed perceptions of the lightness (L* spectrum) and blue-yellow spectrum (b*) of surrounding green vegetation, while perception of its green-magenta spectrum (a*) remained more or less unchanged. It also showed that colourful artefacts had different effects on different perennials. Overall, the results demonstrate that professionals should pay equal attention to the green hue of surrounding vegetation as to the colour of artefacts or flowers when researching or practising design.

Relationships among satisfaction, noise perception, and use of urban green spaces

Nowadays, urban design without green spaces is inconceivable. Environmental, social, and economic benefits generated by green spaces are essential to maintain the health and quality of life of the population and to control pollution. Therefore, urban planners and city leaders should know the interactions between the features of green spaces, the sociodemographic characteristics of users, and the type of use. In addition, in some studies, noise was found to be an essential factor in the perception of these green spaces. For this purpose, surveys and sound measurements were carried out simultaneously in different locations of the main green spaces of Cáceres city. The results of this study show that noise satisfaction has the greatest significant relationship with overall satisfaction with green spaces. Different features, including satisfaction with the absence of noise, can explain 71.4% of the overall satisfaction. Road traffic is the most annoying sound source, but the degree of noise annoyance is lower than that estimated for other urban environments with similar sound levels. Walking and talking activities, emotions of fear and irritability, and interruptions to conversation are most often affected by noise in these urban environments. Another conclusion obtained is that the highest significant correlation coefficients are between noise perception by users and both the equivalent continuous linear weighted sound level and sharpness. Lastly, the green-space use determines differences and significant relationships with the sociodemographic characteristics. Also, the places in green spaces where people frequently perform walking and relaxation activities have the lowest sound levels. Therefore, noise is a statistically relevant factor to be considered in the design of green spaces.

Urban parks: Visitors’ perceptions versus spatial indicators

Urban green spaces and their role in the quality of life of residents have been studied across multiple disciplines, based on empirical measurements or qualitative studies – however, the relation, and its strength, between spatial indicators of urban green spaces and visitors’ perceptions of green spaces are less known. Addressing this knowledge deficit, the present research uses a Geographical Information System (GIS) to link subjective evaluations of the physical environment and objective spatial indicators, to examine the correlation between the perceived and objective characteristics of five urban parks in the city of Szeged, Hungary. A questionnaire survey was used to collect residents’ subjective perceptions of the parks, while objective – which is to say measurable and mappable – spatially explicit indicators of the respective green spaces were calculated using GIS. The subjective evaluations of the parks were matched to the objective indicators using a multiple regression analysis. The statistical analysis yielded two moderate and two minor correlations between the human perceptions of the investigated green spaces and the nine objective environmental indicators examined. These results showed that subjective evaluations and objective data reveal different aspects of the same reality. Therefore, the recommendations from this study are to collectively use human perceptions and objective environmental indicators, both of which are fundamental for adequately capturing the role of urban green spaces in quality of life.

Residents' perception and use of green space: Results from a mixed method study in a deprived neighbourhood in Korea

Variables other than the physical existence of green space can affect its health benefits, including the residents' perceptions of the green space. In this study, factors associated with residents' perceptions and use of green space, as well as, their demands for green space to promote their use of such space were examined. The study focused on a deprived area in Jeonju City, Korea and used a mixed method design that involved both quantitative and qualitative components. The quantitative data from a cross-sectional survey of 1000 residents and the qualitative data from interviews with 30 residents were obtained. The results showed that the people in poorer socio-demographic and residential situations were more dependent on local green space, and good relationships between neighbours in this low-income area led to more frequent use of green space. The most important and fundamental requirements for green space are easy accessibility and safety. Also, physical and social activities must be promoted through the use of green space. As since green space can play a significant and positive social role in deprived neighbourhoods, both the quantity and quality of such spaces should be strongly considered as part of any revitalization efforts.

A gendered analysis of community perceptions and attitudes towards green spaces in a Durban Metropolitan residential area: Implications for climate change mitigation

abstractUnderstanding how people perceive green spaces in their surrounding environments is important for planning of residential areas in a city. Green spaces provide various benefits to communities in the form of recreation, education, relaxation and aesthetic appeal. This Article reports on research on residents' opinions and understanding of green spaces and their access and use of green spaces. It also assesses perceptions regarding climate change and the value of urban green spaces in mitigating against climate change impacts and threats. The importance of urban green spaces in the context of climate change is well documented, specifically to relieve the impacts of increased temperatures and natural disaster events. It also plays a critical role in preserving biodiversity and improving air quality. While several studies focus on residents' perceptions of green spaces, very few (if any) examine differences between men and women. This Article disaggregates results from a resident survey conducted in the South Durban Area (SDA), one of the most environmentally contested locations in South Africa. In total, 200 households residing in close proximity to the Bluff Conservancy were interviewed. Key thematic issues examined include differences in the way in which men and women value and use green spaces, attitudes towards green spaces, the types of green spaces that respondents prefer accessing, knowledge of green spaces and links to climate change. It was found that a greater proportion of men used existing green spaces within their community. Differences in terms of how men and women value and perceive green spaces were also noted. This study concludes that there is a gendered dimension to residential perceptions of the use of green spaces and this should be considered in the formulation of climate change policy and urban planning efforts.

Crossing Borders: Review of Concepts and Approaches in Research on Greenspace, Immigration and Society in Northwest European Countries

Relations between greenspace, immigration and society are emerging issues in policy and science. However, up to now research has been fragmented and no overview of approaches exists. This review describes concepts and approaches in Northwest European research on immigrants’ recreational use and perceptions of nature, rural landscapes and urban parks and on societal aspects of migration and greenspace. We show that national research traditions vary considerably, reflecting national ‘contexts of reception’ and conceptualisations of immigrants. Links between outdoor recreation and perceptions of greenspace have not been properly researched and explanatory factors are only superficially touched upon. Borders seem difficult to cross: learning processes and cooperation of scholars across approaches and countries are scarce. Furthermore, current research often lacks an explicit theoretical framework. We argue that the concept of identity-in-context can form a good starting point to build an internationally relevant theoretical framework on the greenspace–immigration–society interface.

Residents and urban green spaces: The case of Bari

The total area of public green spaces in the city of Bari, Italy is more limited than in most other Italian cities (2.9 m 2/inhabitant). This fact makes it an interesting subject for research into the general perception that the residents of the city have of green spaces and their behaviour patterns when using them. A questionnaire (27 questions) was presented by telephone to a representative sample ( n = 3 5 1 ) of the population of Bari. The aims of the study were: (a) to gain insight in the perception of green spaces with particular reference to those green areas within the city itself; (b) to examine behaviour during visits to parks and gardens and means of transport used to reach them; (c) to investigate what kind of relationship should be set up between the local authority and the population regarding information and participation. The results show that respondents perceive the green areas as a life quality enhancer in accordance with some previous studies carried out in Italy and in other countries. Citizens are moreover conscious of the limitations in quality and quantity of green areas in their own city, although this result needs to be more closely analysed in the future. Patterns in the use of public green areas proved to be strictly connected with age, sex, marital status, area of residence. Another conditioning factor was the system of mobility. The results moreover underline how citizens see the public and private green areas as single beneficial system. The research also demonstrates the potentials of applying telephone surveys in studies concerning urban forests.