The ‘nature’ Of Urban Sustainability:
Private Or Public Greenspaces?
Author(s)
C. Bernardini & K. N. Irvine
Abstract
Addressing urban sustainability requires an understanding of the psychological
experience of place. This study explores the relationship between people and two
types of nature. Semi-structured interviews with 40 householders in a UK city
suggest remarkable differences in how gardens and public greenspaces
contribute to residents’ sense of self. Control and private space emerged as
distinguishing factors. Having a connection with nature positively affects
perceptions of ecological value; this value corresponded with environmental
concern. Findings support the proposition that greenspaces are meaningful for
people-environment relationships with implications for promoting quality social
and ecological urban settings.
Keywords: place identity, environmental perception, urban sustainability,
environmental concern, greenspaces, gardens, parks, biodiversity.
1 Introduction
The contribution of nature to urban social sustainability, particularly to residents’
relationship to place, has received little attention. While research has explored
psychological processes leading to place identity (e.g. Uzzell et al [1]; Twigger-
Ross & Uzzell [2]), few have examined the process in terms of urban nature.
What research there is, centres on public greenspaces (e.g. Bell et al [3]); private
areas remain largely under-studied. The purpose of this study was to explore the
similarities and differences for place identity (PI) processes and environmental
representation (ER) in relation to private gardens and public greenspaces.
Keywords
place identity, environmental perception, urban sustainability,
environmental concern, greenspaces, gardens, parks, biodiversity.
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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