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The role of urban nature experiences in sustainable consumption: a transboundary urban ecosystem service

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Abstract

Urban nature is widely recognized to be vital for sustainable urban development due to its wide range of benefits to urban residents. One of these benefits is urban nature’s contribution to promoting pro-environmental behaviour. This behaviour can reduce individual consumption, thereby decreasing the overall ecological footprint of urban areas. However, there is limited empirical evidence for a link between urban nature and pro-environmental behaviour. To test this link, we apply the value-belief-norm theory by examining the relationship between learning in urban nature and environmental values among Singaporean residents (n = 1,500). Our findings showed that learning in urban nature affected biospheric values and personal norms of the public. In turn, these values and norms promoted the public’s support for certified timber products, organic products, and boycotts of non-sustainable products. Relational values also supported these impacts. These benefits indicate an urban ecosystem service transcending city boundaries as urban nature in one region can support reducing an ecological footprint in other regions. These study findings may contribute to finding a contribution of urban nature as a nature-based approach to encouraging sustainable consumption, and a role of relational values in promoting pro-environmental behaviour.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) Programme (NRF2016-ITC001-013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Social Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, China

    Wanggi Jaung

  2. Environmental Research Center, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, China

    Wanggi Jaung

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    L. Roman Carrasco

  4. Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise, Singapore, Singapore

    L. Roman Carrasco, Daniel R. Richards & Puay Yok Tan

  5. ETH Zurich, Singapore-ETH Centre, Singapore, Singapore

    Daniel R. Richards

  6. Manaaki Whenua –Landcare Research, Lincolin, New Zealand

    Daniel R. Richards

  7. Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Shaikh Fairul Edros Ahmad Shaikh

  8. Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Puay Yok Tan

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  1. Wanggi Jaung
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Contributions

Wanggi Jaung and L. Roman Carrasco contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Wanggi Jaung, Shaikh Fairul Edros Ahmad Shaikh, and L. Roman Carrasco. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Wanggi Jaung and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Jaung, W., Carrasco, L.R., Richards, D.R. et al. The role of urban nature experiences in sustainable consumption: a transboundary urban ecosystem service. Environ Dev Sustain 25, 601–621 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-02071-y

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