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- Info
Public knowledge and preferences for wildlife habitats in urban open spaces
| Author: |
Schauman, Sally; Penland, Stephen; Freeman, Marilyn |
| Date: |
1987 |
| Periodical: |
In: Adams, L.W.; Leedy, D.L., eds. Integrating Man and Nature in the Metropolitan Environment: Proceedings of the National Symposium on Urban Wildlife; 1986 November 4-7; Chevy Chase, MD. Columbia, MD: National Institute for Urban Wildlife |
| Abstract: |
This study was based on the premise that knowing preference will provide some understanding of how people may react in certain landscape decision situations. Our results indicated that preference does change as the landscape comes in closer proximity to one's home territory. The presence of open space received greater approval if located "somewhere in the city" than it did if located "across the street." From the correlations of both verbal and visual knowledge with landscape preference, we concluded that knowledge regarding the interaction between wildlife and habitat does relate somewhat to preference. However, this is not a strong association and other, yet unidentified, factors appear to affect landscape preference. The public's visual ability to recognize habitat diversity was surprisingly good, for it did not differ significantly from the opinion of the experts. Because the verbal knowledge did not correlate with the respondents' recognition of habitat diversity, we inferred that, for these subjects, visual ability may be an intuitive and unconscious judgment. People are able to read the landscape and identify good habitat. Furthermore, this visual reading ability seemed to correlate with preference. Perhaps if this ability were raised to a conscious understanding through education, it could be an effective means of ensuring a more informed public who will have clearer conservation goals for remnant urban habitats. More research is needed to determine to what degree education might change people's conservation decisions, especially for those landscapes close to home and easy to see, smell, and touch. |
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