Does urban gardening increase aesthetic quality of urban areas? A case study from Germany |
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| Institution: | 1. University of Belgrade − Faculty of Architecture, Belgrade, Serbia;2. University of Belgrade − Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, Belgrade, Serbia;1. Department of Environmental Health, Colorado School of Public Health, 13001 E. 17th Place, Mail Stop: B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA;2. Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, 13001 E. 17th Place, Mail Stop: B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA;3. Department of Sociology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA;4. Denver Urban Gardens, 1031 33rd Street, Suite 100, Denver, CO 80205, USA;5. Department of Planning and Design, College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado-Boulder, Campus Box 314 Boulder, CO 80309, USA |
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| Abstract: | We tested in two corresponding studies the hypothesis that urban gardening is of visual aesthetic value to the public. With the help of photo-realistic visualizations and a written questionnaire, 109 students and employees of the Karlsruhe University of Education (study 1) and 200 passers-by in the city of Karlsruhe (study 2) were asked about their opinion on different urban gardening scenarios, and attitudes towards urban gardening. Our results indicate that urban gardening can contribute to perceived attractiveness of urban areas, but that not all approaches are perceived as equally positive. While flowerbeds or flower meadows and orderly-managed vegetable plots, in comparison to conventional lawns, increased the aesthetic appeal of urban green space, container gardening approaches, which were often characterized as chaotic, did not. Although flower scenarios were preferred over vegetable scenarios, participants were rather positive about the idea of having more vegetable plots around. Socio-demographic variables had only minor influences on preferences and attitudes. As people were fonder of flowerbeds or flower meadows than of vegetable plots, a mixture of both might be advisable in urban gardening sites. This would also increase overall diversity, which is not only beneficial from an aesthetic, but also from an ecological point of view. |
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| Keywords: | Aesthetic quality Flowers Photo-realistic visualizations Urban gardening Vegetables |
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