Understanding the sociocultural valuation of ecosystem services in urban parks: a Colombian study case

The significance of urban ecosystem services on the perception of parks among the public is profound. Parks are valued for their functional benefits, the experiences they provide, and their relationship with green spaces. To better understand the sociocultural values associated with five urban parks...

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Autores:
Granobles Velandia, Fabian Andres
Trilleras, Jenny M.
Romero-Duque, Luz Piedad
Quijas, Sandra
Tipo de recurso:
Article of investigation
Fecha de publicación:
2024
Institución:
Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales U.D.C.A
Repositorio:
Repositorio Institucional UDCA
Idioma:
eng
OAI Identifier:
oai:repository.udca.edu.co:11158/5623
Acceso en línea:
https://repository.udca.edu.co/handle/11158/5623
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-023-01438-5
Palabra clave:
Ecosistemas urbanos
Bienestar
Parques urbanos
Orientation values
Servicios de los ecosistemas
Rights
openAccess
License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode.es
Description
Summary:The significance of urban ecosystem services on the perception of parks among the public is profound. Parks are valued for their functional benefits, the experiences they provide, and their relationship with green spaces. To better understand the sociocultural values associated with five urban parks in Tunja (Boyacá, Colombia), in this case study, we interviewed three types of stakeholders: decision-makers, social leaders, and park users. We employed semi-structured interviews to identify the perception and orientation values of different stakeholders. According to the results, stakeholders recognize 18 ecosystem services as the most important, with cultural ecosystem services having the highest perception value. We found that socio-cultural values are influenced more by the characteristics of the parks than their size, and socio-demographic aspects of stakeholders such as age, level of education, and gender had no significant effect. We conclude that people value urban parks for the benefits associated with trees and the emotional connections they develop with them over time, assigning intangible value to city parks. However, we also identified discrepancies in values between governmental and non-governmental stakeholders that may adversely affect decision-making and policy formulation. This information can be valuable to urban planners who seek to assess and integrate measures that promote green spaces in cities to achieve sustainability