that is deemed irrelevant is unlikely to be well used and
cherished by the community.
4.3. A glimpse of relevance
Even though roof gardens may not feature strongly
in the usage arena, there appears to be a general sense of
support for roof gardens provision. When asked, “Do
you think we should provide more rooftop gardens in
Singapore?” about 80% of the respondents voted for
more roof gardens provision. It is possible that some
respondents may have been inclined to indicate ‘yes’ as
they were not asked to bear the provision costs. However,
reviewof their responses and articulations to other
questions, in particular, their usage and reason for provision,
would seem to purport that bias was negligible.
Respondents were asked to share their personal
thoughts in a follow-up open-ended question of why
they support or do not support more roof gardens provision
in Singapore. The replies were content analyzed,
similar thoughts and words were sorted and grouped
under same representative themes and then independently
verified to unpack the focus of individual attention.
As summarized in Table 4, the main reasons point
to considerations of aesthetics: to beautify the environment
and personal usage for leisure and relaxation.
The responses present a glimpse of the relevance of
roof gardens in the participant residents’ life. The roof
gardens experience of offering relief to the urban patterns
and ‘near to home’ space for leisure and recreation
resurfaced. Many, especially those living near the roof
gardens, appreciated the roof gardens as a space where
Table 4
Reason for more roof garden provision
Reason for more roof garden provision Household living near roof
garden (n = 158)a (%)
Household living away from roof
garden (n = 114)a (%)
Leisure and relaxation 23.4 16.7
Beautify the environment 16.5 21.9
Greenery and nature 12.0 10.5
Better air quality 7.6 0.9
Saving and better utilization of space 5.1 22.8
Better living environment 4.4 5.3
Entertainment and exercise 3.2 1.8
Socialization and neighborly relations 2.5 0
Accessibility and Convenience 1.3 2.6
Reduce temperature 0.6 0.9
Other reasons e.g. no particular reason, safety 23.4 16.7
a n includes only households who gave reasons for more rooftop garden provision.
they can bring their children to play, entertain visiting
friends, hold block parties or just be alone. The sense
of ‘a place to go’ has been found among the most important
benefits of open spaces in cities (Kaplan and
Kaplan, 1989; Walpole, 2000). A lady from the small
group discussion shared her joy of being able to spend
some quiet solitary moments in the nearby roof gardens
(it is perhaps relevant to mention that the average
public flat size in Singapore is 90m2 for a four-room
flat (three bedrooms) and 110m2 for a five-room flat
(four bedrooms); it is not uncommon for household to
live under the extended family structure). She joined
other respondents who were mothers with young children
to suggest that roof gardens should be provided
with more plants that would become the ‘honeypot’ of
insects (such as butterfly and caterpillar) where their
children could observe nature at close range and develop
an interest in nature that may otherwise be lost
in the congestion of urban life. They were keen to see
more nature and less concrete in the garden.
Besides personal benefits, several respondents also
cited wider city benefits to support the provision of roof
gardens. These were largely related to the general urban
function and aesthetics of the town: beautify the
environment, better air quality (this quality seemed especially
appreciated among those living near roof gardens),
greenery and nature views, land optimization
and better utilization of otherwise unutilized space.
They form a part of the perceived relevance of roof
gardens that goes beyond those derived from the earlier
reported usage rate. Respondents were also asked
if they see any problem(s) with rooftop gardens pro