Citizens’ Preference and Perception of Street Trees of Main Boulevards in Busan, South Korea

Sang Seup Kim, Jae-Song Lee, Dong Hak Lee and Yeol Choi
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Sang Seup Kim: Office of Human Resources Development, Kyungnam University, Changwon 51767, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea
Jae-Song Lee: Housing Urban Finance Institute, Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation, Busan 48400, Korea
Dong Hak Lee: Society and Cultural Laboratory, Busan Development Institute, Busan 47210, Korea
Yeol Choi: Department of Urban Planning & Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: Street tree species are selected mainly based on functional utility. This selection practice results in effective management. If the value of street trees as perceived by citizens is added to the existing selection criteria, satisfaction will be improved in addition to effective management. This study attempted to find a way to reflect citizens’ values in street tree selection criteria through empirical analysis. A preference survey and the visual and affective evaluation of 12 street tree species in Busan Metropolitan City were conducted. With the collected data, principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to draw common factors of evaluation. Additionally, multidimensional scaling (MDS) was used to group tree species that were considered similar. The study results revealed that citizens prefer species that provide visually positive feelings and intimacy. Some species appropriate for urban greenspaces are not preferred for street trees. Although a low level of nuisance is an important aspect of street trees, citizens do not prefer species that are excessively free from nuisance. When selecting species with a polarized preference, dealing with undesired aspects is required. It is necessary to acknowledge the different preferences of citizens and street tree authorities; reflecting citizens’ values can provide more citizen-friendly street plans.

Keywords: street tree selection criteria; perception of street trees; preference for street trees (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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