This study focused on private yards in urban settings – specifically examining who has access to larger yards, how frequently they're used, and what factors influence their use. The study was based on the understanding that the benefits of private yards can be accessed through both passive and active pathways. The presence of vegetation around the home allows its residents to access certain benefits with only passive engagement. Such benefits include climate regulation, shade, privacy, noise reduction, and flood control. The enjoyment of other benefits, however, requires active engagement – which for purposes of this study, means spending time in the yard.
This study was conducted in Brisbane, Australia with 520 adult residents participating. The address of each participant was geolocated, and estimates of yard area and tree cover within yards calculated. Additional measures were used to obtain estimates of lower vegetation and age of houses. To measure yard use, an urban green space interaction survey was conducted. In addition to obtaining information about frequency and duration of yard use, this survey also collected such demographic information as age, gender, income, presence of children in the home, length of time in the home, and home ownership status. An estimate of neighborhood socio-economic disadvantage was calculated using census data. Participants also completed the Nature Relatedness Scale, designed to assess individual differences in connection to nature.
Results indicated that residents with larger yards, older houses, greater social advantage, and higher nature relatedness tended to have higher levels of vegetation immediately around their home, whereas low-income families tended to have less vegetation in their yards. People who spent more time in their yards tended to have larger yards, were of older age, and had higher nature relatedness scores. Yards were also used more frequently when children were in the homes. Greater vegetation cover did not predict greater use.
These findings indicate that physical and personal factors influence both the passive and active benefits people receive from urban yards. The results of this study are consistent with other research showing a link between higher vegetation cover and higher social advantage, and thus highlights an environmental equity concern. This concern should be considered in urban planning of new green spaces and in selecting locations to improve neighborhood vegetation. The results of this study also suggest the need for more research on how to foster connectedness to nature.
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