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[HCG22-08] Young people’s perception of informal green spaces
- Hints for promoting the use of informal green spaces, based on the relation between perception and experience of using informal green spaces -
Keywords:Young people’s perception, Informal Green Spaces, Urban Green Spaces, coexistence, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The SDGs were adopted at the UN Summit in September 2015. We could contribute to some of them, through greening activities easily get involved in. Studies on greening activities have been carried out and several measures have been taken for officially recognized green spaces (GS) such as parks, gardens, and forests in Japan.
However, GS found in cities are not limited to these formal GS, but also include “informal green spaces” (IGS), which are covered with greenery such as street verges, railroad verges, and water verges, that are not considered formal GS. Efforts to make the most use of IGS in cities have also begun [1].
Previous studies have shown that urban residents, mainly the elderly, are aware of the existence of IGS in their neighborhoods and regard them as potential supplementary GS[2] and that the younger generation is also aware of the existence of IGS and regard that IGS enrich their lives, and see that IGS have potential to be used as places for greening activities [3].
In this study, IGS near Chiba University was firstly surveyed and locations and types of IGS were recorded. Then a questionnaire on the experience of use and perception of IGS was developed. Google Form was used to collect responses from students and teachers of Ichikawa Junior and Senior High School. The survey questions included the following: demographics of the respondents, presence of experience in the use of IGS, types of IGS used, people’s awareness and perceptions of IGS (5-point scale, 1: strongly disagree to 5: strongly agree), and views on coexistence with humans and nature. The responses obtained were analyzed using simple tabulation, cross-tabulation, and Mann-Whitney’s U test.
The survey was primarily conducted by young people living in urban areas (n=312), including 77 junior high school students, 184 high school students, and 51 teachers, with an average age of 20.5 years. The largest number of respondents lived in Chiba, followed by Tokyo and Saitama.
For the question of the experience of using IGS, 68% of the respondents answered they had used IGS. All types of IGS were used, in order of vacant lots (52.8%), unimproved lands (49.5%), and street verges (39.6%). (Fig. 1)
Then, we examined the relation between people’s perception of IGS, their attitude towards nature, and their IGS use experience. The results show those who had used IGS gave significantly more positive responses (Fig. 2). In responses with a mean value of 4 (agree) or more, there was a significant difference (p=0.01) in the question “You are willing to use the IGS for activities such as walking and nature observation (with experience (IGS+): 4.3, without experience (IGS-): 3.9)”. Then, looking at the response with mean values between 3 (neither agree nor disagree) and 4 (agree), significant differences were found in the questions “I think IGS make us feel peaceful (IGS+: 3.8, IGS-: 3.3)” (p<0.001), “It is possible to use IGS freely in many ways (IGS+: 3.6, IGS-: 3.1)” (p=0.001), “IGS can be a place where children can play (IGS+: 4.0, IGS-: 3.3)” (p<0.001). Respondents with experience of using IGS provided significantly more positive responses to the question on the effects of IGS. The analysis was carried out using the Mann-Whitney’s U test.
Questions on the attitude towards nature and experiences of using IGS, a significant difference was found for the question “It is important for plants, animal and humans to coexist (IGS+: 4.6, IGS-: 4.4)” (p<0.05). Although no significant difference was found for the question “I would like to set aside some time for nature conservation (IGS+: 3.9, IGS-: 3.7)”, those who had used IGS tended to be more positive about the coexistence of humans and nature (Fig. 3)
We found the use experience of IGS directly leads to positive perspectives on IGS. Thus it is suggested in order to further promote the use of existing urban GS, especially IGS, it is essential to take steps to encourage the use of IGS in the very first place. We conclude the results provide a hint for future activities for the government and private sector to promote the use of IGS.
[1] Katsunori Furuya, et al. Private and informal green space as green infrastructure: towards participatory maintenance policies, Principal Investigator Katsunori Furuya, Co-Investigator Ruprecht Christoph, Yui Takase, KAKEN, 2017-04-01 - 2020-03-31
[2] Minseo K, Christoph DDR and K. Furuya. Residents’ Perception of Informal Green Space - A Case Study of Ichikawa City, Japan. Land, MDP, vol7(3),1-20, 2018.
[3] Yuri Tanaka, Yingming Mao, Katsunori Furuya. Young citizens’ Perception of Informal Green Space - A Case Study of Ichikawa and nearby cities in Japan (The 6th International Symposium for Sustainable Landscape Development, September 2021)
However, GS found in cities are not limited to these formal GS, but also include “informal green spaces” (IGS), which are covered with greenery such as street verges, railroad verges, and water verges, that are not considered formal GS. Efforts to make the most use of IGS in cities have also begun [1].
Previous studies have shown that urban residents, mainly the elderly, are aware of the existence of IGS in their neighborhoods and regard them as potential supplementary GS[2] and that the younger generation is also aware of the existence of IGS and regard that IGS enrich their lives, and see that IGS have potential to be used as places for greening activities [3].
In this study, IGS near Chiba University was firstly surveyed and locations and types of IGS were recorded. Then a questionnaire on the experience of use and perception of IGS was developed. Google Form was used to collect responses from students and teachers of Ichikawa Junior and Senior High School. The survey questions included the following: demographics of the respondents, presence of experience in the use of IGS, types of IGS used, people’s awareness and perceptions of IGS (5-point scale, 1: strongly disagree to 5: strongly agree), and views on coexistence with humans and nature. The responses obtained were analyzed using simple tabulation, cross-tabulation, and Mann-Whitney’s U test.
The survey was primarily conducted by young people living in urban areas (n=312), including 77 junior high school students, 184 high school students, and 51 teachers, with an average age of 20.5 years. The largest number of respondents lived in Chiba, followed by Tokyo and Saitama.
For the question of the experience of using IGS, 68% of the respondents answered they had used IGS. All types of IGS were used, in order of vacant lots (52.8%), unimproved lands (49.5%), and street verges (39.6%). (Fig. 1)
Then, we examined the relation between people’s perception of IGS, their attitude towards nature, and their IGS use experience. The results show those who had used IGS gave significantly more positive responses (Fig. 2). In responses with a mean value of 4 (agree) or more, there was a significant difference (p=0.01) in the question “You are willing to use the IGS for activities such as walking and nature observation (with experience (IGS+): 4.3, without experience (IGS-): 3.9)”. Then, looking at the response with mean values between 3 (neither agree nor disagree) and 4 (agree), significant differences were found in the questions “I think IGS make us feel peaceful (IGS+: 3.8, IGS-: 3.3)” (p<0.001), “It is possible to use IGS freely in many ways (IGS+: 3.6, IGS-: 3.1)” (p=0.001), “IGS can be a place where children can play (IGS+: 4.0, IGS-: 3.3)” (p<0.001). Respondents with experience of using IGS provided significantly more positive responses to the question on the effects of IGS. The analysis was carried out using the Mann-Whitney’s U test.
Questions on the attitude towards nature and experiences of using IGS, a significant difference was found for the question “It is important for plants, animal and humans to coexist (IGS+: 4.6, IGS-: 4.4)” (p<0.05). Although no significant difference was found for the question “I would like to set aside some time for nature conservation (IGS+: 3.9, IGS-: 3.7)”, those who had used IGS tended to be more positive about the coexistence of humans and nature (Fig. 3)
We found the use experience of IGS directly leads to positive perspectives on IGS. Thus it is suggested in order to further promote the use of existing urban GS, especially IGS, it is essential to take steps to encourage the use of IGS in the very first place. We conclude the results provide a hint for future activities for the government and private sector to promote the use of IGS.
[1] Katsunori Furuya, et al. Private and informal green space as green infrastructure: towards participatory maintenance policies, Principal Investigator Katsunori Furuya, Co-Investigator Ruprecht Christoph, Yui Takase, KAKEN, 2017-04-01 - 2020-03-31
[2] Minseo K, Christoph DDR and K. Furuya. Residents’ Perception of Informal Green Space - A Case Study of Ichikawa City, Japan. Land, MDP, vol7(3),1-20, 2018.
[3] Yuri Tanaka, Yingming Mao, Katsunori Furuya. Young citizens’ Perception of Informal Green Space - A Case Study of Ichikawa and nearby cities in Japan (The 6th International Symposium for Sustainable Landscape Development, September 2021)