Human happiness versus urban biodiversity? Public perception of designed urban planting in a warming climate

This study focused on public perception and preference in relation to a range of typologies of woodland, shrub and herbaceous designed urban planting defined by planting structure and species character. An initial on-site questionnaire was conducted with a large sample of respondents, (n = 1410), at 31 sites in England, followed by in-depth interviews with a much smaller self-selecting sub-set of the original respondents, (n = 34). Findings indicated that planting structure, species character and flowering all had a significant bearing on perceptions of the attractiveness, neatness and the biodiversity of the planting. Respondents’ background socio-demographic factors, beliefs and values had a lesser influence on their reactions to the planting, and were also related to self-reported well-being. Relationships between perceived attractiveness, perceived biodiversity and well-being were identified.