Public Perception & Green
Infrastructure
Katie Barnhill
SUNY ESF
PI: Richard C. Smardon
Project Overview
• Part of the NSF ULTRA
project – SUNY ESF &
USFS
• Ecological
consequences of
population & economic
changes of ‘rust belt’
cities
• Assessing these urban
spaces for source of
ecologically & socially
sustainable future
• Socio-ecological
metabolism
Human Dimensions
• What is the public perception of ecosystem
services & green infrastructure across time
and space in the city of Syracuse?
• Historical perspective: (Palmer & Smardon
1988) ‘some people don’t like trees!’
• Concern with spatial & longitudinal shifts
Literature Base
• Environmental Psychology – relationship
between neighborhood landscape & quality of
life
• Environmentally significant behavior – what
will drive people’s decisions, changing
behaviors
• Prospect Theory – in decision making, people
will be risk averse
Methodology
• Focus groups July 2010
• Surveys
• Statistical & geospatial analysis: differences &
similarities across neighborhoods
Results
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Misperceptions of terms
Financial concerns
Renters v. homeownership
Citizen motivation (lack thereof)
Perceived disconnects
Misperception of Terms
• Ecological/ecosystem
services
– Participants had simply
never heard the term(s)
www.serconline.org
• Green Infrastructure
– Most participants
thought it was
government-delivered
service (infrastructure)
– Vs. ecosystem services
Financial Concerns
• Costs of green infrastructure installations
• Maintenance costs
• Mostly concern for individual homeowners
Home Ownership
• High renter rates in the city – residents do not
have the capacity to implement many of these
features
• Should we then look at neighborhood
initiatives on public lands in areas with high
renter rates?
Community Pride
• Community involvement – same people taking
initiative repeatedly.
• Getting broader participation
• Appreciation for existent greenspaces
preventing vandalism
www.elec-intro.com
Perceived Disconnects
• What is needed in the city & surrounding
communities vs. what gets delivered/done by
local governments
Conclusions
• Identified some potential environmental
education needs – ecosystem services & green
infrastructure
• Possible low hanging fruit identified
– High rates of rental properties  shift focus
– Greenspaces
• Problem of citizenship engagement &
Perceived disconnects
• Opportunities for community visioning
Acknowledgements
• NSF ULTRA
• Syracuse Center of Excellence
• Primary Investigator: Richard C. Smardon