Place-Keeping in the Park: Testing a Living Lab Approach to Facilitate Nature Connectedness in Urban Greenspaces

Abstract

Green infrastructure, particularly public greenspaces such as urban parks, plays an important role in urban environments, and improving public participation in greenspace practices and encouraging environmental stewardship can help to address some of the challenges of greenspace governance. We identify a gap in the research as to whether participation in citizen science projects can enhance connections between people and place and encourage better community participation in the stewardship of parks and urban greenspaces. The research adopts a Living Lab approach to utilise the inherent knowledge of the local community in developing digital experiments in the pilot site using a Nature Data Probe toolkit and seeks to explore its potential for enhancing nature connectedness by revealing hidden nature. We describe an action research method working with participants from a secondary school located close to a large urban park in Plymouth, UK. The results found that participants were more observant of hidden nature following the workshop and that an increase in the number of participants, and in the specific and descriptive responses identifying nature, was observed. These findings indicate that a deeper awareness of the natural environment was created and, in summary, we discuss the implications of this as a pathway to increased participation in greenspace governance.

Green Development in Indonesia: Socioeconomic Impacts, Environmental Effects, and the Role of Social Entrepreneurship

“…Residents can enjoy a variety of advantages from these green spaces, including purification of the air and water, preservation of biodiversity, and recreational opportunities. A positive correlation between the presence of green spaces and the well-being of urban communities has been consistently demonstrated in research (Backman et al, 2023;Bille et al, 2023;Perdigones et al, 2023;Willis & Gupta, 2023). Research has demonstrated that the presence of urban green spaces can mitigate the negative impacts of high temperatures, pollution, and inundation, while also enhancing both mental and physical well-being (Devos, 2023).…”

“…Involving urban communities in green area-related planning and decisionmaking processes can enhance the success of such initiatives and foster a sense of ownership, according to research (Angelidou & Psaltoglou, 2017;Gearin et al, 2023;Willis & Gupta, 2023). Community participation in these processes is influenced by various factors, one of which is the imperative to confront societal challenges and devise inventive resolutions (Gilbert, 2014).…”

“…There are numerous socioeconomic benefits associated with the development of green space, including the establishment of jobs, the enhancement of property values, and the stimulation of the local economy (Bille et al, 2023;Sutono et al, 2023). It has also been demonstrated that access to green spaces improves community wellbeing, social cohesion, and mental health (Willis & Gupta, 2023;Zalejska-Jonsson et al, 2023). The connection to nature that green spaces afford may have positive effects on one's mental health (Janeczko et al, 2023).…”

“…The development of green spaces yields favorable environmental outcomes, such as the sequestration of carbon, the mitigation of urban heat islands, and the conservation of biodiversity (Backman et al, 2023;Perdigones et al, 2023;Willis & Gupta, 2023;Zalejska-Jonsson et al, 2023). Nevertheless, improper management, land use conflicts, and invasive species may present obstacles (Pelčák & Korytárová, 2022).…”

Drivers of Pro-Ecological Behaviour Norms among Environmentalists, Hunters and the General Public

“…Empirical evidence indicates that all humans have some degree of a genetically hard-wired affinity with nature [23]. Immersion in nature, whether rural or urban, actual or virtual, enhances CNS and leads to increased attentional capacity, positive emotions, and various psychological benefits to well-being [24][25][26]. Indeed, there is a growing realisation of the importance of the human-nature relationship with robust links to pro-environmental behaviour that influence not only our well-being but also our behaviour toward others and our willingness to sacrifice for them, e.g., [27][28][29].…”