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Taking “social relations” as a cultural ecosystem service: A triangulation approach

Cheng Xin,Van Damme Sylvie,L. Luyuan,U. Pieter

Published 2020 in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

ABSTRACT

Abstract A well-designed urban green space encourages outdoor activity and social interactions, and can thereby potentially contribute to the health of urban dwellers and social harmony. Although social relations (SR) have been widely studied in social science, they are rarely studied in the context of urban green spaces. This study proposes considering SR as cultural ecosystem services, which would yield new insight into the adoption of SR into environmental topics. However, the knowledge on how to use them to inform environment decisions is unsatisfied, mainly because they are difficult to measure. The existing quantitative methods based on observations or questionnaires are useful for analyzing a large sample; however, they do not further elaborate on the way certain landscape features influence the social relations delivery in a specific area. Yet, the quality and meaning behind those landscape features is significant to guide environment practice (planning, design, or management). Qualitative methods such as interviews or focus groups have the potential to gain a deeper understanding of what is conveyed and how. To overcome limitations of both methods, we propose a triangulation approach by using observations, questionnaires, and interviews to assess social relations in an urban park in China. This study draws attention to the role of parks in providing spaces that support a range of social interactions. The findings demonstrate the pervasiveness of social interactions in which people engage, and the way in which they create patterns of use in different spaces with different landscape features. To conclude, it is encouraged that the findings are used to support park management and thereby enhance SR, and this paper also highlighted the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to assess SR. More studies should be undertaken to measure the contribution of specific landscape features of different urban greens to social relations to support environmental practices.

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