Exploring Citizens’ Aesthetic Perception in Urban Green Space Design: A Study of Ornamental Trees and Shrubs Distribution in Bushehr, Iran
Subject Areas : Journal of Ornamental PlantsReza Amareh 1 , Behzad Kaviani 2 , Shahram Sedaghathoor 3 , Mohammadsadegh Allahyari 4
1 - Department of Horticultural Science, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran
2 - Department of Horticultural Science, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran
3 - Department of Horticultural Science, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran
4 - Department of Agricultural Management, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran
Keywords: Aesthetics, Shrubs, Trees, Urban green space,
Abstract :
Expanding and restoring urban green spaces represent a growing social demand among citizens in developing countries. However, in Iran, these efforts face significant challenges due to the country's arid regions and the heightened expectations of people regarding visual and environmental quality. The selection of tree species in urban landscape design plays a crucial role in shaping the aesthetic, emotional, and environmental aspects of urban areas. To evaluate the impact of ornamental trees and shrubs in Bushehr's urban space, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted with a statistical sample of 200 Bushehri citizens, focusing on five species: Bougainvillea sp., Ficus elastica, Conocarpus erectus, Clerodendrum inerme, and Dodonea viscosa. Analysis revealed that "emotional feeling" and "perceived environmental beauty" constituted 70.9% of society’s aesthetic perception variance. Additionally, Friedman’s nonparametric test highlighted significant differences in society’s aesthetic perception of the studied trees, with respondents noting higher perceived cognitive beauty in Bougainvillea sp. and F. elastica. Effective selection of plant species for urban green spaces not only enhances visual appeal but also positively impacts people’s emotional well-being. This requires a thorough consideration of environmental factors and emotional responses. By integrating these concepts into the design, along with raising awareness of arid region species, satisfaction with urban spaces can be partially increased.
Abdollahpour, I., Nedjat, S., Noroozian, M., Golestan, B. and Majdzadeh, R. 2010. Development of a caregiver burden questionnaire for the patients with dementia in Iran. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 1(4): 233.
Amareh, R., Kaviani, B., Sedaghathoor, S. and Allahyari, M.S. 2024. Antioxidant defense strategies of urban ornamental plants in southern Iran against heavy metals. Bioremediation Journal, 28 (4): 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/10889868.2024.2303007
Aminzadeh, B. 2001. Philosophy of environmental interaction in Muslim cities. Soffeh, 10 (31): 40-53. (In Persian)
Asgharpour, M. J. 2009. Multiple criteria decision making. Tehran University Press, 400 pages.
Barati, N. 2003. An innovative view to the concept of garden and green space in Persian language. Journal of Environmental Studies, 29 (Special Issue), 1-12. (In Persian)
Barrett, T.L., Farina, A. and Barrett, G.W. 2009. Aesthetic landscapes: An emergent component in sustaining societies. Landscape Ecology, 24: 1029-1035. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-009-9354-8
Berland, A. and Lange, D.A. 2017. Google street view shows promise for virtual street tree surveys. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 21: 11-15.
Bourassa Steven, C. 1990. A paradigm for landscape aesthetics. Environment and Behavior, 22 (6): 787-812.
Buijs, A., Hansen, R., van der Jagt, S., Ambrose-Oji, B., Elands, B., Rall, E.L., Mattijssen, T., Pauleit, S., Bunhaar, H. and Olafsson, A.S. 2019. Mosaic governance for urban green infrastructure: Upscaling active citizenship from a local government perspective. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 40: 53-62.
Camacho-Cervantes, M., Schondube, J. E., Castillo, A. and MacGregor-Fors, I. 2014. How do people perceive urban trees? Assessing likes and dislikes about the trees of a city. Urban Ecosystems, 17: 761-773.
Celik, D. and Aciksoz, S. 2017. Urban aesthetic and urban landscape design guides: A case study of Bartin-Turkey. Journal of Environmental Biology, 38(5): 893-900.
Chace, J.F. and Walsh, J.J. 2006. Urban effects on native avifauna: A review. Landscape Urban Planing, 74: 46-69.
Chen, Y., Wang, X., Jiang, B., Wen, Z., Yang, N. and Li, L. 2017. Tree survival and growth are impacted by increased surface temperature on paved land. Landscape Urban Planning, 162: 68-79.
Conway, T.M. and Urbani, L. 2007. Variations in municipal urban forestry policies: A case study of Toronto, Canada. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 6: 181-192.
Cowett, F.D. and Bassuk, N.L. 2014. Statewide assessment of street trees in New York State, USA. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 13: 213-220.
Dulebenets, N., Ozguven, E. and Moses, R. 2018. The highway beautification act: Towards improving efficiency of the federal outdoor advertising control program. Transportation Research, 110: 88-106.
Escobedo, F. and Chacalo, A. 2008. Descontaminación atmosférica por el arbolado urbano de la Ciudad de México (Reduction in atmosphere pollution due to the urban trees in Mexico City). Interciencia, 33: 29-33.
Ezcurra, E. 1990. De las chinampas a la megalópolis (From chinampas to the big city). Fondo de Cultura Económica, México.
Foo, K. 2018. Examining the role of NGOs in urban environmental governance. Cities, 77: 67-72.
Galenieks, A. 2017. Importance of urban street tree policies: A comparison of neighboring southern California cities. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 22: 105-110.
Gobster, P.H., Nassauer, J.I., Daniel, T.C. and Fry, G. 2007. The shared landscape: What does aesthetics have to do with ecology? Landscape Ecology, 22: 959-972.
Grant, J.S. and Davis, L.L. 1997. Selection and use of content experts for instrument development. Research in Nursing and Health, 20: 269-274.
Grimm, N.B., Faeth, S.H., Golubiewski, N.E., Redman, C.L., Wu, J.G., Bai, X.M. and Briggs, J.M. 2008. Global change and the ecology of cities. Science, 319: 756-760.
Hamer, A.J. and McDonnell, M.J. 2008. Amphibian ecology and conservation in the urbanizing world: A review. Biology Conservation, 141: 2432-2449.
Harris, T.B. and Manning, W.J. 2010. Nitrogen dioxide and ozone levels in urban tree canopies. Environmental Pollution, 158: 2384-2386.
Iwamura, T. and Yokohari, M. 2001. Review and future perspectives of park maintenance and management by local communities in Kobe City, Hyogo prefecture. Journal of the Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture, 64 (5): 671-674 (In Japanese with English summary).
Jim, C.Y. 2003. Protection of urban trees from trenching damage in compact city environments. Cities, 20: 87-94.
Karimian, Z. 2019. The conflict of landscape aesthetic preferences with sustainable green space in arid regions. Flower and Ornamental Plants, 4 (1): 1-12. (In Persian)
Khosroushahi, M. 2012. The compare of geomorphoclimatological deserts domain of Iran. Watershed Management Researches (Pajouhesh-Va-Sazandegi), 94: 10-18. (In Persian)
Kim, S.S., Lee, J.S., Lee, D.H. and Choi, Y. 2021. Citizens’ preference and perception of street trees of main boulevards in Bussan, South Korea. Sustainability, 13 (6): 3141.
Lampinen, J., Tuomi, M., Fischer, L.K., Neuenkamp, L., Alday, J.G., Bucharova, A. and Klaus, V.H. 2021. Acceptance of near-natural green space management relates to ecological and socio-cultural assigned values among European urbanites. Basic and Applied Ecology, 50: 119-131.
Lanza, K. and Stone, B. 2016. Climate adaptation in cities: What trees are suitable for urban heat management? Landscape and Urban Planning, 153: 74-82.
Li, X., Ratti, C. and Seiferling, I. 2018. Quantifying the shade provision of street trees in urban landscape: A case study in Boston, USA, using google street view. Landscape and Urban Planning, 169: 81-91.
Lothian, A. 1999. Landscape and the philosophy of aesthetics: Is landscape quality inherent in the landscape or in the eye of the beholder? Landscape and Urban Planning, 44: 177-198.
Ma, H. 2005. Molecular genetic analyses of microsporogenesis and microgametogenesis in flowering plants. Annual Review in Plant Biology, 56: 393-434.
MacGregor-Fors, I., Morales-Perez, L. and Schondube, J.E. 2011. Does size really matter? Species-area relationships in human settlements. Divers Distribution, 17: 112-121.
Mullaney, J., Lucke, T. and Trueman, S.J. 2015. A review of benefits and challenges in growing street trees in paved urban environments. Landscape and Urban Planning, 134: 157-166.
Ode, A., Tveit, M.S. and Fry, G. 2008. Capturing landscape visual character using indicators: Touching base with landscape aesthetic theory. Landscape Research, 33 (1): 89-117.
Othman, N., Noralizawati, M. and Mohd Hisham, A. 2015. Landscape aesthetic values and visiting performance in natural outdoor. Environment, Social and Behavioral Sciences, 202: 330-339.
Pandit, R., Polyakov, M., Tapsuwan, S. and Moran, T. 2013. The effect of street trees on property value in Perth, Western Australia. Landscape and Urban Planning, 110: 134-142.
Park, J., Kim, J., Lee, D.K., Park, C.Y. and Jeong, S.G. 2017. The influence of small green space type and structure at the street level on urban heat island mitigation. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 21: 203-212.
Plant, L. and Sipe, N. 2016. Adapting and applying evidence gathering techniques for planning and investment in street trees: A case study from Brisbane, Australia. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 19: 79-87.
Polit, D.F. and Beck, C.T. 2006. The content validity index: Are you sure you know what’s being reported? Critique and recommendations. Research in Nursing & Health, 29: 489-497.
Roy, S. 2017. Anomalies in Australian municipal tree managers’ street-tree planting and species selection principles. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 24: 125-133.
Rubio, D.M.G., Berg-Weger, M., Tebb, S.S., Lee, E.S. and Rauch, Sh. 2003. Objectifying content validity: Conducting a content validity study in social work research. Social Work Research, 27 (2): 94-104.
Sanesi, G. and Chiarello, F. 2006. Residents and urban green spaces: The case of Bari. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 4: 125-134
Sanusi, R., Johnstone, D., May, P. and Livesley, S.J. 2017. Microclimate benefits that different street tree species provide to sidewalk pedestrians relate to differences in plant area index. Landscape and Urban Planning, 157: 502-511.
Schroeder, H.W. and Cannon Jr., W.N. 1983. The esthetic contribution of trees to residential streets in Ohio towns. Journal of Arboriculture, 9 (9): 237-243.
Seiferling, I., Naik, N., Ratti, C. and Proulx, R. 2017. Green streets—quantifying and mapping urban trees with street-level imagery and computer vision. Landscape and Urban Planning, 165: 93-101.
Shokouie, H. 2017. New perspectives on urban geography. 1, 18, Samt, Tehran, Iran. (In Persian)
Sjöman, H. and Nielsen, A.B. 2010. Selecting trees for urban paved sites in Scandinavia—A review of information on stress tolerance and its relation to the requirements of tree planners. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 9: 281-293.
Sommer, R., Guenther, H. and Barker, Ph.A. 1990. Surveying householder response to street trees. Landscape Journal, 9: 79-85.
Sommer, R., Guenther, H. and Cecchettini, Ch.L. 1992. A user-based method for rating street trees. Landscape Research, 17 (3): 100-107.
Subburayalu, S. and Sydnor, T.D. 2012. Assessing street tree diversity in four Ohio communities using the weighted Simpson index. Landscape and Urban Planning, 106: 44-50.
Todorova, A., Asakawa, S. and Aikoh, T. 2004. Preferences for and attitudes towards street flowers and trees in Sapporo, Japan. Landscape and Urban Planning, 69 (4): 403-416.
Tork, H. 2011. Landscape architecture and urban perspective: A case study of Abbasabad Hill in Hamedan. M.Sc. Thesis, Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran. (In Persian)
Veinberga, M., Skujāne, D. and Rivža, P. 2019. The impact of landscape aesthetic and ecological qualities on public preference of planting types in urban green spaces. Scientific Journal of Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies Landscape Architecture and Art, 14 (14): 7-17.
Vogt, J., Gillner, S., Hofmann, M., Tharang, A., Dettmann, S., Gerstenberg, T., Schmidt, C., Gebauer, H., van de Riet, K. and Berger, U. 2017. Citree: A database supporting tree selection for urban areas in temperate climate. Landscape and Urban Planning, 157: 14-25.
Wolf, K. 2003. Freeway roadside management: The urban forest beyond the white line. Journal of Arboriculture, 29 (3): 127-135.
Yang, J., Zhou, J., Ke, Y. and Xiao, J. 2012. Assessing the structure and stability of street in Lhasa, China. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 11: 432-438.