The public perception of urban vegetation in metropolitan regions of Costa Rica
Urban vegetation makes cities more liveable, provides essential ecosystem services, and is relevant for sustainable development. We investigated the public perception of urban vegetation in the metropolitan area of Costa Rica, Central America. Through an online survey, we collected 1264 responses fr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Environmental Advances |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666765723000807 |
| _version_ | 1797643532157059072 |
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| author | Jose Ali Porras-Salazar Jan-Frederik Flor Sergio Contreras-Espinoza Melissa Soto-Arce Rene Castro-Salazar |
| author_facet | Jose Ali Porras-Salazar Jan-Frederik Flor Sergio Contreras-Espinoza Melissa Soto-Arce Rene Castro-Salazar |
| author_sort | Jose Ali Porras-Salazar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Urban vegetation makes cities more liveable, provides essential ecosystem services, and is relevant for sustainable development. We investigated the public perception of urban vegetation in the metropolitan area of Costa Rica, Central America. Through an online survey, we collected 1264 responses from Costa Rican residents on their attitudes and opinions towards urban vegetation's environmental services and disservices. After selecting those participants residing in the Greater Metropolitan Area and applying a data cleaning process, we derived 811 valid responses. Poststratification techniques were employed to fit the sample to the general population distribution. We found that the majority viewed urban vegetation favorably, with 80 % believing that urban greenery contributes more benefits than negative effects to air quality, shading, and wildlife. In contrast, up to 20 % think urban greenery is harmful, asserting that it encourages crime, promotes pests, and damages infrastructure. Perceptions changed according to demographic variables such as gender, age group, and education level. We compared our results to a previous study in Singapore, Southeast Asia, which showed similar trends despite cultural and economic differences. This paper offers a starting point for priority-setting and decision-making in city planning by delivering insights into how people in the tropics perceive urban vegetation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T14:17:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-651d0a1baed94d5ca41a85282deef692 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-7657 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T14:17:13Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Advances |
| spelling | doaj.art-651d0a1baed94d5ca41a85282deef6922023-11-01T04:48:19ZengElsevierEnvironmental Advances2666-76572023-10-0113100422The public perception of urban vegetation in metropolitan regions of Costa RicaJose Ali Porras-Salazar0Jan-Frederik Flor1Sergio Contreras-Espinoza2Melissa Soto-Arce3Rene Castro-Salazar4School of Architecture, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, Costa Rica; Corresponding author.Faculty of Architecture and Ekistics, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Bachok, MalaysiaDepartment of Statistics, University of Bio-Bio, Bio-Bio, ChileSchool of Architecture, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, Costa Rica; Faculty of Architecture and Ekistics, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Bachok, Malaysia; School of Architecture, Building and Design, Taylor’s University, Subang Jaya, Malaysia; Department of Statistics, University of Bio-Bio, Bio-Bio, Chile; Independent researcher, San Jose, Costa RicaSchool of Architecture, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, Costa Rica; Faculty of Architecture and Ekistics, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Bachok, Malaysia; School of Architecture, Building and Design, Taylor’s University, Subang Jaya, Malaysia; Department of Statistics, University of Bio-Bio, Bio-Bio, Chile; Independent researcher, San Jose, Costa RicaUrban vegetation makes cities more liveable, provides essential ecosystem services, and is relevant for sustainable development. We investigated the public perception of urban vegetation in the metropolitan area of Costa Rica, Central America. Through an online survey, we collected 1264 responses from Costa Rican residents on their attitudes and opinions towards urban vegetation's environmental services and disservices. After selecting those participants residing in the Greater Metropolitan Area and applying a data cleaning process, we derived 811 valid responses. Poststratification techniques were employed to fit the sample to the general population distribution. We found that the majority viewed urban vegetation favorably, with 80 % believing that urban greenery contributes more benefits than negative effects to air quality, shading, and wildlife. In contrast, up to 20 % think urban greenery is harmful, asserting that it encourages crime, promotes pests, and damages infrastructure. Perceptions changed according to demographic variables such as gender, age group, and education level. We compared our results to a previous study in Singapore, Southeast Asia, which showed similar trends despite cultural and economic differences. This paper offers a starting point for priority-setting and decision-making in city planning by delivering insights into how people in the tropics perceive urban vegetation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666765723000807Urban ecologyTropical climatesGreen infrastructureNatural scene perceptionEcosystem servicesUrban planning |
| spellingShingle | Jose Ali Porras-Salazar Jan-Frederik Flor Sergio Contreras-Espinoza Melissa Soto-Arce Rene Castro-Salazar The public perception of urban vegetation in metropolitan regions of Costa Rica Environmental Advances Urban ecology Tropical climates Green infrastructure Natural scene perception Ecosystem services Urban planning |
| title | The public perception of urban vegetation in metropolitan regions of Costa Rica |
| title_full | The public perception of urban vegetation in metropolitan regions of Costa Rica |
| title_fullStr | The public perception of urban vegetation in metropolitan regions of Costa Rica |
| title_full_unstemmed | The public perception of urban vegetation in metropolitan regions of Costa Rica |
| title_short | The public perception of urban vegetation in metropolitan regions of Costa Rica |
| title_sort | public perception of urban vegetation in metropolitan regions of costa rica |
| topic | Urban ecology Tropical climates Green infrastructure Natural scene perception Ecosystem services Urban planning |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666765723000807 |
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