The role of managed natural spaces in connecting people with urban nature: a comparison of local user, researcher, and provider views

Abstract

Increasing evidence of the health and wellbeing benefits of urban natural spaces has resulted in policy goals to increase their use. Making these spaces accessible and attractive to potential users is fundamental to achieving these goals since a mismatch between design and use can mean that the potential benefits of these spaces are not fully realised. Yet there has been limited investigation of whether the ambitions of providers align with local user preferences. Using a qualitative approach, we combined interviews of providers and researchers with focus groups of local users to reflect on the provision and use of urban natural spaces in the UK, and analysed the resulting transcripts using framework analysis. Three overarching themes were identified: (i) the role of managed environments in connecting people with nature; (ii) built features as facilitators of connection with nature; and (iii) challenges to connecting with nature arising from built features and the management of natural spaces. Although there were points of agreement between the stakeholder groups, we identified some key differences. Local users expressed a preference for both wilder and more formal urban natural spaces and opposed the removal of built features significant to the local history of the area. Whilst researchers recognised these views, providers were not aware of local user preferences for wilder spaces or the extent that local users considered the local heritage and its artefacts important. Understanding these differing perspectives on local natural spaces is important for maximising the value of these spaces to provide co-benefits for the environment and health.

Perceptual difference of urban public spaces between design professionals and ‘laypersons’: Evidence, health implications and ready-made urban design templates

“…15 Meanwhile, the professionals typically better recognize the value of spontaneous vegetation compared to non-professionals, 28 although a subtlety different report exists in which local non-professional users were found to express preferences for both ‘wilder’ and more formal urban natural spaces towards managed natural spaces. 29 Evidence of assessment differences towards landscape designing between local non-professional users and experts were also found in research which indicates that the former have a more positive perception towards certain land-use associations compared to the latter. 30 Moreover, regarding architectural design, the difference of opinion between architects and users has also been confirmed by a growing body of empirical research: while there are some similarities between the two groups in terms of the aesthetic evaluation of architectural appearance, 16 there are significant differences in the evaluation in dimensions such as ‘meaningfulness’ and ‘originality’.…”

Trauma and Transgression in Nature-Based Leisure

“…The recent growth and formalized interest of institutions, such as federal public lands management agencies, in adapting to changing social and environmental conditions in various ways suggests that the time for leisure to be realized as a human right among all groups of people is overdue and now. However, eradicating historical and current constraints will take serious effort on the part of institutions, which are often resistant to change and at times disconnected from local users' idealized nature-based amenities (e.g., de Bell et al, 2018 ).…”

Ecology of the Сity and the Role of Tourism in the Formation of Living Space (on the Example of Urban Ecosystems of the Cities of Kryvyi Rih and Uman)

“…All this determines the nature of a separate, relatively autonomous ecological system, which is based on the interaction of the social organism as a whole with the environment, which is undergoing changes on its part [10].…”