engleski

Perception of cultural ecosystem services in relation to different types of urban green infrastructure - case study of Zagreb, Croatia

Urban green infrastructure (UGI) provides invaluable services and benefits for urban population contributing to their sense of wellbeing. Among these are cultural ecosystem services (CES). These are often defined as non- material benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences (MEA, 2005). Despite their importance for urban population and the prevalence of cultural landscapes in Europe, these services are less explored than others. Urban planning and green space management is often expert-based and leaves out perception of citizens as users and beneficiaries of services and benefits UGI provides. This is very true for the city of Zagreb (Croatia) as well where our research took place. We used mixed method approach to explore perceptions of CES of UGI at the city level. Besides exploring perception of CES of UGI we also explored how CES is perceived based on the different types of UGI. We conducted focus groups in each city district (altogether 20 focus groups and 94 participants). Focus group participants also pointed on maps exact locations in which they perceive specific CES (namely place attachment, aesthetics, recreation, education, and cultural identity). Using spatial and statistical analyses we were able to find out how CES of UGI are distributed based on type of UGI and which types are perceived as providing more CES than others. We believe the results would be relevant for (urban) planners and managers of UGI.

perception, participatory mapping, cultural ecosystem services, urban green infrastructure

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