Public attitudes toward biodiversity‐friendly greenspace management in Europe

• DOI: 10.1111/conl.12718
• Publication Date: 2020-05-13T12:45:15Z
• Authors: Leonie K. Fischer; Lena Neuenkamp; Jussi Lampinen; Maria Tuomi; Josu G. Alday; Anna Bucharova; Laura Cancellieri; Izaskun Casado‐Ar...; Natálie Čeplová; Lluïsa Cerveró; Balázs Deák; Ove Eriksson; Mark D. E. Fellowes; Beatriz Fernández...; Goffredo Filibeck; Adrián González‐G...; M. Belen Hinojosa; Ingo Kowarik; Belén Lumbierres; Ana Miguel; Rosa Pardo; Xavier Pons; Encarna Rodríguez...; Roland Schröder; Marta Gaia Sperandii; Philipp Unterweger; Orsolya Valkó; Víctor Vázquez; Valentin H. Klaus
• Keywords: biodiversity‐friendly greenspace management; lawn alternative; biodiversity-friendly greenspace management; QK30 Plant ecology. Plant ethology / növényökológia; reduction; 580 Plants (Botany); QH1-199.5; Environmental education; Biodiversity conservation; Biodiversity-friendly greenspace management; Environmental education; Environmental policy; Environmental responsibility; Lawn alternative; Maintenance intensity; Sustainable cityplanning; Urban grassland vegetation; Urban meadow; Biodiversity conservation; Urban grassland vegetation; 01 natural sciences; Sustainable city planning; 12. Responsible consumption; urban meadow; Maintenance intensity; Biodiversity-friendly greenspace management; environmental policy; maintenance intensity; 11. Sustainability; urban grassland vegetation; Sustainable cityplanning; time; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences; Environmental responsibility; environmental responsibility; environmental concern; Lawn alternative; General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution; space; 15. Life on land; Urban meadow; QK Botany / növénytan; Environmental policy; lawns; environmental education; sustainable city planning; 13. Climate action; biodiversity conservation; biodiversity-friendly greenspace management; environmental education; environmental policy; environmental responsibility; lawn alternative; maintenance intensity; sustainable city planning; urban grassland vegetation; urban meadow; QH540 Ecology / ökológia; QH Natural history / természetrajz; ta1181; biodiversity conservation; urban; meadows

AbstractIncreasing urbanization worldwide calls for more sustainable urban development. Simultaneously, the global biodiversity crisis accentuates the need of fostering biodiversity within cities. Policies supporting urban nature conservation need to understand people's acceptance of biodiversity‐friendly greenspace management. We surveyed more than 2,000 people in 19 European cities about their attitudes toward near‐natural urban grassland management in public greenspaces, and related their responses to nine sociocultural parameters. Results reveal that people across Europe can support urban biodiversity, yet within the frames of a generally tidy appearance of public greenery. Younger people and those using greenspaces for a greater variety of activities were more likely to favor biodiversity‐friendly greenspace management. Additionally, people who were aware of the meaning of biodiversity and those stating responsibility for biodiversity conservation particularly supported biodiversity‐friendly greenspace management. Our results point at explicit measures like environmental education to increase public acceptance of policies that facilitate nature conservation within cities.