Why do people need urban parks? Which benefits do they get from visiting them? And, do these benefits really affect their quality of life? These are the main research questions addressed by this study. Issues investigated concern the social demands for parks among urbanities, the emotional component involved in their experience of nature and the benefits perceived. Results from a survey study conducted in The Netherlands, in the summer 2001, will be presented and their implications for city sustainability discussed.
2. Materials and methods
Both secondary (literature review and desk research) and primary data have been gathered. Primary data have been collected through a survey conducted among visitors of the Vondelpark, the most popular park of Amsterdam (The Netherlands). Created in 1865, the park attracts about 10 millions visitors each year. It extends over 48 ha surface and hosts 4400 trees of 127 different species. Since 1996 it benefices the status of monumental park to be preserved for future generations.
The survey was set up after a small pilot study. Respondents were randomly selected among the visitors of the park,3 regardless of their social extraction or professional background. People approached in the park, were first informed about survey’s objective and answering procedure. Those willing to participate were given the questionnaire with a pre-paid envelope to return the questionnaire, and invited to fill it in during their stay at the area, so that the answers would reflect their immediate experiences. Questionnaires have been distributed on both weekdays and weekends, in different hours of the day, and in different parts of the parks. Responses formats were either closed (dichotomous, multiple choices), in ranking scale or open. The questionnaire addressed a broad range of issues, ranging from motives for nature, nature’s images, perception of environmental functions, environmental attitudes and willingness-to-pay questions. For the purpose of this paper, however, the analysis will be limited to the following issues: