Public perception towards a greener and bluer San Ġwann : a case study

Abstract

As the impacts of green space shrinkage in our urban zones become more obvious, local authorities must find ways to adopt environmental planning policies that can help generate new green areas to safeguard a good quality of life for residents, along with the action of rehabilitating the natural environment and creating resilient infrastructure. One approach that can help solve this is the promotion and development of green and blue infrastructure within our urban environment, including buildings, roads, and public spaces. In order to effectively promote blue and green infrastructure, it is crucial to understand the public’s attitudes towards this infrastructure, so that appropriate and efficient strategies can be put into effect by policy makers. Thus, the aim of this study is to develop an understanding on the perceptions of the public with respect to blue and green infrastructure. More specifically, it will focus on gaining an insight on the publics thoughts towards urban blue and green infrastructure, their perceived importance of this infrastructure, and their willingness to adopt them in a locality that they are familiar with and which they occasionally frequent. In this study, a multi-method approach was adopted where a number of respondents were interviewed using a mix of semi-structured interviews and visual preference surveys to better understand their views on blue and green infrastructure within the built environment and on the multiple related benefits that may arise from integrating such concepts within our infrastructure. For the purposes of this research study, the respondents interviewed consisted of several stakeholders, such as residents, visitors and business owners, within a case study area that was chosen to be the locality of San Ġwann, Malta. The interviews were then analysed and coded using both manual hand techniques and qualitative data analysis software’s such as NVivo. The results achieved in this study indicate that the majority of residents and visitors perceive urban blue and green infrastructure in terms of their social and environmental benefits, such as towards improving air quality and the aesthetic of the locality, and show a lesser appreciation towards the economic benefits that they can provide. On the other hand, most business owners perceive this infrastructure based on the economic benefits that they can provide towards their business, such as towards an increase in business attractiveness. Moreover, it was found that the majority of stakeholders across the board believed that the development of urban blue and green infrastructure is important due to the social services that they can provide to the locality. Lastly, the majority of stakeholders were willing to adopt urban blue and green infrastructure in the locality of San Ġwann, but most business owners and visitors showed concern when the implementation of blue and green infrastructure affected the parking infrastructure in the locality. Hence, they showed a reluctance to adopt these systems when it effected the customers’ accessibility to the locality. Moreover, the high initial costs and the maintenance requirements of urban blue and green infrastructure were common points brought up by the majority of stakeholders as having an effect on their willingness to adopt these systems. The study therefore provides valuable information for planners, researchers, and decision makers to better understand what the users of urban spaces require and expect from urban blue and green infrastructural systems.