Landscape assessment in metropolitan areas – developing a visual indicator-based approach

Many studies have addressed landscape preferences in rural settings, identifying key aspects and elements of the visual landscape important for people’s appreciation. Information about these characteristics of landscapes has then been used as bases for indicator frameworks linking measurable indicators to landscape aesthetic theory. However, there is a need to expand and develop these frameworks to be relevant for assessment of metropolitan landscapes. Nine key concepts, identified by Tveit et al. (2006) and Ode et al (2008), in existing frameworks for visual landscape assessment, stewardship, naturalness, complexity, imageability, visual scale, historicity, coherence, disturbance and ephemera, are revisited in a metropolitan context, identifying landscape elements and indicators relevant for measuring visual landscape character in metropolitan areas. The study reviews existing evidence of people’s landscape preferences relating to urban landscapes and links this knowledge to map-based indicators that can be used by planners and decision-makers responsible for the management and monitoring of landscapes. This paper presents the key concepts in development of a theoretical framework for visual landscape assessment in metropolitan areas

Effects of biodiversity and environment-related attitude on perception of urban green space

Green space in cities contributes to the quality of life for city dwellers, e.g., by increasing the opportunity for recreation. However, perception of urban green space is influenced by multiple factors. We investigated effects of biodiversity and environment-related attitudes on visual and auditory perceptions of urban green space. Field measurements of biodiversity were conducted in six sites across an urban gradient in Gothenburg, Sweden, and three categories of biodiversity—high, medium, low—were established. Households were sent a survey on aesthetic perception of urban green space, sound perception and the importance of trees and plants for the perception of bird species. Each respondent focused on the site that was located nearby. The environment-related attitudes comprised “Nature-oriented” and “Urban-oriented” persons and were based on participants’ own attitude estimations. It was shown that participants’ “subjective” aesthetic and sound-related perception of urban greenery were in line with the “objectively” measured subdivisions of high, medium and low biodiversity. So also were their estimations of the importance of trees and plants for perception of bird species in urban greenery, although differing only between high and medium/low biodiversity conditions. Persons rating themselves as highly nature-oriented were shown to give higher scores to urban green space aesthetics and to value greenery-related sounds higher, and to attach greater importance to trees and plants in their perception of bird species in urban greenery, than less nature-oriented persons. Highly urban-oriented persons compared to less urban-oriented persons did the same, but only regarding urban greenery-related aesthetics and sounds of nature. We conclude that environment-related attitudes influence perceptions of green space. Moreover, our findings support the idea that biodiversity per se also influences perceptions; people value green space significantly more with high than with low measured biodiversity. Urban planning needs to provide city inhabitants with green spaces that are species-rich, lush, varied and rich with natural sounds

Striving for inclusion – A systematic review of long-term participation in strategic management of urban green spaces

This systematic review contributes to the research field of user participation by suggesting a new holistic approach comprising a cyclic process model for long-term participation in the strategic management of urban green spaces, including analysis, design, and implementation phases, each followed by an evaluation. User participation in urban green spaces is encouraged in international conventions. Such initiatives aim to involve citizens more closely in decisions regarding local spaces, based on the premise that this will create better, more inclusive, and sustainable local environments. However, a social inclusion perspective is largely absent in the growing body of European scientific literature on urban green spaces. Further, user participation processes are often carried out within projects, with uncertainties about which strategic management phase (planning, design, construction, and/or maintenance) to emphasize and about the long-term sustainability of project-based participation. Therefore, the literature was examined for tools for participation with the focus on participation of local users in the strategic management of urban green spaces, and in particular, marginalized groups. A systematic review based on peer-reviewed scientific papers revealed the necessity for adapting participation processes to the known needs of different participant groups, including those of marginalized groups often excluded in the past. Local authorities have several pathways to socially inclusive and long-term participation. These include choosing and employing a suitable participation approach, anchoring repeated project-based participation in existing municipal long-term strategies, continuously supporting participating users and evaluating ongoing participation processes, and employing a mix of participation types and approaches. The “cyclic process model for long-term participation in strategic management of UGS” presented in this paper could guide such efforts

Urban open space management in the Nordic countries. Identification of current challenges based on managers' perceptions

This paper reports on how Nordic practise relates to, and perceives contemporary challenges to urban open space management. The study used a case study approach, via interviews. The studied Nordic cities experience the effects of densification in inner city areas. This is often resulting in higher pressure on existing urban open spaces, but also generating new spaces which tend to be small and fragmented, not meeting the many wishes and demands asked for by the diverse user groups. While budgets are sufficiently allocated in new development projects, it is a challenge to withstand the maintenance budgets, forcing managers to prioritise. Due to primary political interest in inner city areas, there is a risk of managers not prioritising the more peripheral areas, from where resources are often transferred to the newly developed areas. This creates a new type of urban nature, primarily in the urban peripheral areas, with increased amounts of biodiversity and higher amounts of multi-functionality, compared to the smaller and more intensively programmed inner-city areas. Urban open space managers are relying on the existing municipal planning tools, and to varying degrees act strategically in terms of developing own sector oriented plans and strategies

Priorities and barriers for urban ecosystem service provision: A comparison of stakeholder perspectives from three cities

Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) can provide many needed ecosystem services (ES) to help address challenges like biodiversity loss and climate change while contributing to the health and wellbeing of urban inhabitants. In order to optimize UGI for a given city, a first step is to assess the local ES needs and the potential barriers to ES provision. However, it is not known how consistent these needs and barriers are among cities in different settings. To help address this knowledge gap, the aim of this study was to assess ES priorities and existing barriers to ES provision for three cities varying in socioeconomic, cultural and climatic setting: Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Cincinnati (USA) and Malmö (Sweden). In case studies of each of the three cities, we carried out workshops with key stakeholders and collected their assessments of both current provision of ES from UGI and future priorities. The workshops were followed by expert stakeholder interviews aimed at highlighting existing barriers to ES provision. In spite of the different urban contexts, expressed ES priorities were similar among the cities, with the highest cross-cutting priorities being climate change adaptation, stormwater runoff management and water quality, mental and physical health, biodiversity, and provision of local food. Stakeholder-expressed barriers to ES provision were also broadly similar among cities, falling into three main categories: structural pressures, gaps in governance, and lack of ecological awareness and vision. Our results suggest that certain key ES priorities and barriers may apply broadly to cities regardless of climatic or socio-cultural context. These generic needs can help direct the focus of future studies, and imply a clear benefit to international, even cross-continental study and knowledge-exchange among practitioners and researchers working with UGI

Utveckling av lekotoper för barns naturmöten

I projekt efter projekt där lekmiljöer för barn skall iordningställas så ser vi hur leken undermineras genom att ytor med naturmark decimeras, vegetationen hålls tillbaka och konstgjorda material ersätter natur. Mot denna utveckling behövs nya strategier för att bevaka naturvärden, underlätta naturmarksetablering och säkra barns och ungas tillgång till en god utemiljö i enlighet med Plan och Bygglagen. Då naturbaserade lekmiljöer är dynamiska platser med levande material behöver man samtidigt göra sig medveten om olika möjliga skötselstrategier redan från start. Det kräver nya typer av dialoger mellan experter för att undersöka villkoren på platser där naturen skall samsas med barns aktivitet. Är det möjligt att tänka sig ett perspektiv där barnen genom sin användning bidrar till platsens skötsel och utveckling? Med stöd från SLU:s miljöanalysprogram Bebyggd miljö har i detta projekt ett antal forskare och praktiker ingått i dialog kring den problematik och de utmaningar som finns när man skall identifiera och anlägga naturmark som passar barns behov och intressen. Projektet under beteckningen Utveckling av "lekotoper" för barns naturmöten (SLU.ltv.2020.4.1-255) har handlat om att utveckla en förståelse för problematiken, hitta gemensamma perspektiv och en fungerande terminologi för att diskutera frågorna vidare på tvärs av olika fack och praktiker. Viktiga personer för projektets genomförande som vi särskilt vill tacka är personal vid parkenheten i Örebro med Mimmi Beckman i spetsen samt Emma Simonsson vid Urbio, som generöst har bjudit på kunskap och konkreta exempel. Det är denna duo som tillsammans med oss forskare vid SLU, Björn Wiström och Åsa Ode Sang vid institutionen för landskapsarkitektur, planering och förvaltning i Alnarp, Marcus Hedblom vid institutionen för stad och land i Uppsala samt Fredrika Mårtensson och Anna Litsmark vid institutionen för människa och samhälle i Alnarp, som har riggat de olika workshopparna som har varit grunden för dialogen. Idén till workshopparna uppstod inom ramen för en dialog mellan ett arbetspaket inom EU-projektet REGREEN med forskare från SLU samt Vinnovaprojektet Hållbara lekmiljöer i Staden där KTH, SLU, Örebro kommun och Urbio ingår. De två projekten har utbyten emellan sig och under ett möte om möjliga synergieffekter väcktes behovet av att behandla frågor kring anläggning av naturmark. I det praktiska arbetet kring lekotoputvecklingen som sker i Örebro efterfrågades kunskap och input på frågor kring design och anläggning av gröna leklandskap med fokus på topografi och växtbäddar. Till de frågor som lyftes fram hörde växtval, etableringsfrågor och frågor om plantors kvalitet, tid för plantering, jordbäddar, skydd, täckodling mm. Forskargruppen har stått för dokumentation och efterföljande reflektioner i rapporten. Vi vill också passa på att tacka alla deltagare i workshopparna som bidragit med sin tid, kunskap och engagemang! Från universitet deltog flera forskare med specialexpertis på området i processen och även antal studenter med examensarbete i ämnet. Det pågår också en 3 mängd olika initiativ runt om i Sverige för att göra barns utomhusliv rikare som vi på detta sätt fått ta del av. Deltagarna finns listade i bilaga 5. Forskarnas insatser i projektet har också stöttats ekonomiskt genom samordning med EU-projektet REGREEN ( https://www.regreen-project.eu/). Projektgruppen från SLU har stått för inramningen till workshoppar, föreliggande dokumentation och avslutande analys i rapporten. Då projektet ägde rum under den globala pandemin har inplanerade fysiska möten behövt ställas in. De behov som ändå finns av att inventera, undersöka och föra dialog på plats hoppas vi få tillgodose i ett kommande partnerskaps-Moviumprojekt som startar under 2021: I projektet Naturbaserade leklandskap med barn och unga får vi chansen att gå vidare och pröva nyvunna insikter på en kommande testbädd i Örebro. Avnämare för arbetet är samhällsplaneringen i stort med fokus på forskares, myndigheters och kommuners arbete med god bebyggd miljö till gagn för friluftsliv och folkhälsa. Fokus ligger på kunskapsstöd till personer från olika sektorer som arbetar med att kartera och tillgängliggöra närnatur för barn - på deras och naturens villkor. Vår förhoppning är att det framöver skall bli lika vanligt att tänka i lekotoper som det är idag att tänka och planera med lekredskap vid anläggning av lekmiljö. Genom processen med workshops och efterföljande dokumentation hoppas vi ha visat prov på hur ett professionellt stöd kan se ut i det viktiga arbetet med att identifiera och utveckla naturbaserade lekmiljöer

How restorative landscapes can benefit psychological and physiological responses: a pilot study of human–naturerelationships in Sweden and Taiwan

Restorative landscapes provide people with the opportunity to experience nature. This pilot study aimed to determine whether cultural differences affect psychological and physiological responses to restorative landscapes. Two populations, one in Taiwan and one in Sweden, were experimentally compared by showing them photos of restorative landscapes from each country. The results showed that restorativeness was affected more by photos of the restorative landscape in Sweden than in Taiwan. The results showed that restorativeness in terms of psychological and physiological responses was affected. A significant variation in heart rate was observed between the populations: Taiwanese participants experienced higher heart rates when viewing unfamiliar and novel scenery when compared to Swedish participants. No significant differences between the populations were observed regarding attention capacity, working memory, and muscle tension. The psychological and physiological responses to the two countries’ distinctive restorative landscapes may have implications for designing such landscapes in urban green spaces

Assessing the ability of rural agrarian areas to provide Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES): a Multi Scale Social Indicator Framework (MSIF)

Assessing the ways in which rural agrarian areas provide Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) is proving difficult to achieve. This research has developed an innovative methodological approach named as Multi Scale Indicator Framework (MSIF) for capturing the CES embedded into the rural agrarian areas. This framework reconciles a literature review with a trans-disciplinary participatory workshop. Both of these sources reveal that societal preferences diverge upon judgemental criteria which in turn relate to different visual concepts that can be drawn from analysing attributes, elements, features and characteristics of rural areas. We contend that it is now possible to list a group of possible multi scale indicators for stewardship, diversity and aesthetics. These results might also be of use for improving any existing European indicators frameworks by also including CES. This research carries major implications for policy at different levels of governance, as it makes possible to target and monitor policy instruments to the physical rural settings so that cultural dimensions are adequately considered. There is still work to be developed on regional specific values and thresholds for each criteria and its indicator set. In practical terms, by developing the conceptual design within a common framework as described in this paper, a considerable step forward towards the inclusion of the cultural dimension in European wide assessments can be made

Landskapet som gick upp i rök

Rapport från forskningsprojektet med samma namn som löpte under åren 2015-2017 och finansierades av Formas. Forskningsprojektet handlade om människor som bor i och nära brandplatsen i Västmanland, och hur deras förhållande till det omgivande landskapet förändrades i samband med att den omgivande miljön drastiskt ändrade