Urban green spaces (UGS) provide vital mental and physical health benefits to the residents interacting with them. The quality and nature of the interaction depends on how well UGS characteristics (such as type, proximity to residential/work location, ownership status) meet the needs of residents. Therefore, we need to better understand people’s preferences toward UGS characteristics to ensure the provision of UGS meets demand. Only then will residents interact with UGS and retrieve associated health benefits.
This project focusses on how residents prefer to interact with UGS close to their home – public or private – and how this preference influences where they decide to live. Knowledge about how households value certain criteria when choosing a residential location is mostly inferred from behaviour.
This project consults with households and gathers evidence on trade-offs residents make as they decide upon residential locations, and how these vary across spatial environments and socio-economic backgrounds. This is key to informing planning decision-making and modelling research to design suitable interventions and plan for liveable neighbourhoods which meet residents’ needs.
Read results in this StoryMap: Link