Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Perceptions, Expectations, and Preferences of Istanbul Residents Related to Nature and Nature Experience

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Making Green Cities

Part of the book series: Cities and Nature ((CITIES))

  • 658 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter aims to examine human preferences to nature experience. The research itself has three main focus points: (1) people associations with nature and recreation; (2) their level of desire to spend time in four different types of nature (a seaside, near a lake, forest, urban park); (3) the reason of their visit (e.g., escaping from city noise, recovering from the work stress), and (4) the quality and quantity of their nature observation. We performed face-to-face interviews with 500 respondents. The data revealed that the majority of the respondents associate nature with a sound, scene, place, state, or area related to green or natural spaces and relate resting with being away from daily routines and passive activities such as sleeping. Overall, we conclude that people in Istanbul have a strong preference for green spaces containing water bodies, with the seaside being the most favorite one. The main reason for the visit is resting. In general, people are interested in the landscape. However, we found a low level of interest and limited awareness of fauna and flora in natural areas.

Based on Hayir Kanat and Breuste (in Press).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Akbar KF, Hale WHG, Headley AD (2003) Assessment of scenic beauty of the roadside vegetation in Northern England. Landsc Urban Plan 63:139–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ballantyne R, Packer J, Hughes K (2008) Environmental awareness, interests and motives of botanic gardens visitors: implications for interpretive practice. Tour Manage 29(3):439–444

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bebbington A (2005) The ability of A-level students to name plants. J Biol Educ 39:62–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belaire JA, Westphal LM, Whelan CJ, Minor ES (2015) Urban residents’ perceptions of birds in the neighborhood: biodiversity, cultural ecosystem services, and disservices. Condor 117(2):192–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett ES, Swasey JE (1996) Perceived stress reduction in urban public gardens. HortTechnology 6(2):125–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boll T, von Haaren C, von Ruschkowski E (2014) The preference and actual use of different types of rural recreation areas by urban dwellers—the Hamburg case study. PLoS ONE 9(10):e108638

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Botzat A, Fischer LK, Kowarik I (2016) Unexploited opportunities in understanding liveable and biodiverse cities. A review on urban biodiversity perception and valuation. Global Environ Change 39:220–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bratman GN, Hamilton JP, Daily GC (2012) The impacts of nature experience on human cognitive function and mental health. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1249(1):118–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breuste J (2012) Der suburbane Raum in ökologischer Perspektive—Potenziale und Herausforderungen [Suburban space in ecological perspective—Potentials and challenges]. In: Scheck W, Küh M, Leibenath M, Tzschaschel S (eds), Suburbane Räume als Kulturlandschaften (= Forschungs- und Sitzungsberichte der ARL, 236). ARL, Hannover, pp 148–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown G, Hausner VH (2017) An empirical analysis of cultural ecosystem values in coastal landscapes. Ocean Coast Manag 142:49–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruun O, Kalland A (2014) Images of Nature: an ıntroduction to the study of man-environment relations in Asia. In: Bruun O, Kalland A (eds) Asian perceptions of nature: a critical approach. Routledge, London, pp 1–21

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Chartrand TL, Bargh JA (1999) The chameleon effect: the perception-behavior link and social interaction. J Pers Soc Psychol 76(6):893

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiesura A (2004) The role of urban parks for the sustainable city. Landsc Urban Plan 68(1):129–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cramer V, Torgersen S, Kringlen E (2004) Quality of life in a city: the effect of population density. Soc Indic Res 69(1):103–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dallimer M, Irvine KN, Skinner AM, Davies ZG, Rouquette JR, Maltby LL, Warren PH, Armsworth PR, Gaston KJ (2012) Biodiversity and the feel-good factor: understanding associations between self-reported human well-being and species rich-ness. Bioscience 62(1):47–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dijksterhuis A, Bargh JA (2001) The perception-behavior expressway: Automatic effects of social perception on social behavior. Adv Exp Soc Psychol 33:1–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dzhambov AM, Dimitrova DD (2014) Urban green spaces’ effectiveness as a psychological buffer for the negative health impact of noise pollution: a systematic review. Noise Health 16(70):157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elands B, Kaae BC (2010) Unique experiences. In: Pröbstl U, Wirth V, Elands B, Bell S (eds) Management of recreation and nature based tourism in European forests. Springer, Berlin and Heidelberg, pp 266–285

    Google Scholar 

  • Elands BHM, van Koppen CSA (2013) Biocultural diversity in the Netherlands: from ecologically noble savages towards biocultural creatives. In: Arts B, van Bommel S, Ros-Tonen M, Verschoor G (eds) Forest people interfaces. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen, pp 181–193

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellen RF (2003) The cognitive geometry of nature: a contextual approach. In: Descola P, Páls-son G (eds) Nature and society. Anthropologic Perspective. Routledge, pp 113–134

    Google Scholar 

  • Fassio O, Rollero C, De Piccoli N (2013) Health, quality of life and population density: a preliminary study on “contextualized” quality of life. Soc Indic Res 110(2):479–488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuller RA, Gaston KJ (2009) The scaling of green space coverage in European cities. Biol Let 5(3):352–355

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuller RA, Irvine KN, Devine-Wright P, Warren PH, Gaston KJ (2007) Psychological benefits of greenspace increase with biodiversity. Biol Let 3(4):390–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gidlöf-Gunnarsson A, Öhrström E (2007) Noise and well-being in urban residential environments: the potential role of perceived availability to nearby green areas. Landsc Urban Plan 83(2):115–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grahn P, Stigsdotter UA (2003) Landscape planning and stress. Urban for Urban Green 2(1):1–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansmann R, Hug S-M, Seeland K (2007) Restoration and stress relief through physical activities in forests and parks. Urban for Urban Green 6(4):213–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartig T, Mitchell R, De Vries S, Frumkin H (2014) Nature and health. Annual Rev Publ Health 35:207–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holman CD, Donovan RJ, Corti B (1996) Factors influencing the use of physical activity facilities: results from qualitative research. Health Promotion J Australia Official J Australian Assoc Health Promotion Prof 6(1):16

    Google Scholar 

  • Kart N (2005) Emirgan parkında kullanıcıların memnuniyet derecelerinin değerlendirilme-si (Evaluation of the satisfaction levels of the users in Emirgan park). J Faculty of Forestry Istanbul Univ|İstanbul Üniversitesi Orman Fakültesi Dergisi 55(1):185–208

    Google Scholar 

  • Leslie E, Sugiyama T, Ierodiaconou D, Kremer P (2010) Perceived and objectively measured greenness of neighbourhoods: are they measuring the same thing? Landsc Urban Plan 95:28–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindemann-Matthies P, Bose E (2008) How many species are there? Public understanding and awareness of biodiversity in Switzerland. Hum Ecol 36:731–742

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindemann-Matthies P, Junge X, Matthies D (2010) The influence of plant diversity on people’s perception and aesthetic appreciation of grassland vegetation. Biol Cons 143(1):195–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manfredo MJ, Driver B, Tarrant M (1996) Measuring leisure motivation: a meta-analysis of the recreation experience preference scales. J Leis Res 28(3):188–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Culture and Tourism (2019) Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourısm. http://www.istanbulkulturturizm.gov.tr/TR-165068/cografya.html. Accessed 8 May 2019

  • Okulicz-Kozaryn A, Mazelis JM (2018) Urbanism and happiness: a test of Wirth’s theory of urban life. Urban Stud 55(2):349–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pilgrim SE, Cullen LC, Smith DJ, Pretty J (2008) Ecological knowledge is lost in wealthier communities and countries. Environ Sci Technol 42:1004–1009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schipperijn J, Ekholm O, Stigsdotter UK, Toftager M, Bentsen P, Kamper-Jørgensen F, Randrup TB (2010) Factors influencing the use of green space: results from a Danish national representative survey. Landsc Urban Plan 95(3):130–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sezer B, Akova O (2016) Kent sakinlerinin rekreasyon tercihleri, rekreasyon alanlarının al-gılanan değeri ve gerçek kullanımı arasındaki ilişki (the relations between recreation preferences of residences, the perceived value of recreational areas and their real use). Faculty Econ Admin Sci E-J 5(2):94–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Shwartz A, Turbé A, Simon L, Julliard R (2014) Enhancing urban biodiversity and its influence on city-dwellers: an experiment. Biol Cons 171:82–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sonnentag S, Fritz C (2007) The Recovery experience questionnaire: development and validation of a measure for assessing recuperation and unwinding from work. J Occup Health Psychol 12(3):204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sugiyama T, Francis J, Middleton NJ, Owen N, Giles-Corti B (2010) Associations between recreational walking and attractiveness, size, and proximity of neighborhood open spaces. Am J Public Health 100(9):1752–1757

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyrväinen L, Ojala A, Korpela K, Lanki T, Tsunetsugu Y, Kagawa T (2014) The influence of urban green environments on stress relief measures: A field experiment. J Environ Psychol 38:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JENVP.2013.12.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van den Berg AE, Jorgensen A, Wilson ER (2014) Evaluating restoration in urban green spaces: does setting type make a difference? Landsc Urban Plan 127:173–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber D, Anderson D (2010) Contact with nature: recreation experience preferences in Australian parks. Annals Leisure Res 13(1–2):46–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitehead AN (1919) The concept of nature. the Tarner lectures, delivered in Trinity college, November,1919. http://archives.library.illinois.edu/erec/University%20Archives/1515022/OriginalFiles/LITERATURE/WHITEHEAD/Concept%20of%20Nature%20Whitehead.pdf [Google Scholar] Open URL. Accessed 8 May 2019

  • Witt JK (2011) Action’s effect on perception. Curr Dir Psychol Sci 20(3):201–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yiğit A, Hayir-Kanat M (2017) İstanbul şehrinde ağırlıklı nüfus merkezinin değişimi ve neden-leri: 1990–2010 dönemi (Changes of Population Gravity Center in İstanbul: Period 1990–2010). Int J Social Sci Res 114–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Zwierzchowska I, Hof A, Iojă I-C, Mueller C, Poniży L, Breuste J, Mizgajski A (2018) Multi-scale assessment of cultural ecosystem services of parks in Central European cities. Urban for Urban Green 30:84–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.UFUG.2017.12.017

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Yildiz Technical University – Istanbul, Esenler-Istanbul, 34210, Turkey

    Meryem Hayir-Kanat

  2. Department of the Environment and Biodiversity, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, Salzburg, 5020, Austria

    Jürgen Breuste

Authors
  1. Meryem Hayir-Kanat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jürgen Breuste
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Meryem Hayir-Kanat .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Geology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

    Jürgen Breuste

  2. Landscape Change and Management, Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development, Dresden, Sachsen, Germany

    Martina Artmann

  3. Center for Environmental Research and Impact Studies, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Cristian Ioja

  4. Department of Geography (Landscape Ecology), Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Salman Qureshi

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Hayir-Kanat, M., Breuste, J. (2023). Perceptions, Expectations, and Preferences of Istanbul Residents Related to Nature and Nature Experience. In: Breuste, J., Artmann, M., Ioja, C., Qureshi, S. (eds) Making Green Cities. Cities and Nature. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73089-5_26

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation