Changing the Conversation
Changing the Conversation
By Dr.
Charlie Hall, AIB Past President
I have a
retired colleague that moved from College Station to another town in Texas, and
he was commenting to me that the big debate in their town at the moment was
whether or not to engage in beautification efforts. Apparently there were those
in that town that considered such investments to be frivolous spending. Sound
familiar?
He then
went on this five-minute rampage about how most folks do not recognize the true
benefits of beautification. He listed things like enhanced economic
development, reduced crime rates, folks are more proud of their community,
biodiversity in the environment, and increased tourism revenue. Again, sound
familiar?
I then
told him, “It sounds like you need America in Bloom.” He looked at me
incredulously asked, “What in the world is that?” I proceeded to lay out my
stump-speech about AIB and by the time I was finished, he was flabbergasted
that he had not heard of it, but mostly because his city was not involved.
This probably
sounds like a conversation each of you has had some time during your AIB
affiliation, or it may be that you are like my friend and unfamiliar with the
multiplicity of benefits that AIB offers. Either way, it’s a good chance for me
to reiterate the fact that AIB does indeed provide a plethora of benefits for
communities.
One
supporting study that was conducted recently I would like to mention analyzed
the relationship between crime and indicators of residential yard management.
Data came from a survey conducted of over 1,000 front yards that included more
than 40 indicators relating to lawns, trees, shrubs, flower beds, and other
features.
After
controlling for income, population density, block-scale tree canopy, and
housing type, the researchers found a consistently-significant relationship
between crime and a number of indicators of yard management. Yard-level
variables that were negatively associated with crime included: the presence of
yard trees, garden hoses/sprinklers, and lawns, in addition to the percentage
of pervious area in a yard. Those positively associated with crime included
presence of litter, desiccation of the lawn, lack of cutting of the lawn, and
number of small trees in front of or adjacent to the property.
While
these results do not establish causality, they add evidence to a growing
literature that suggests the possibility of several mechanisms by which a
community’s environmental design may reduce crime. In other words, “cues to
care” (the inverse of the “broken window” hypothesis) can lead to reduced crime
by signaling to criminals the presence of social capital and the active
involvement of neighbors in community spaces; and more appealing landscaping
draws more “eyes on the street,” which in turn deters criminals.
While
landscape architects, arborists, park advocates, and an increasing number of
mayors, planners, and public health officials understand the presence of nearby
nature in cities to be central to human health and well-being, the public seems
to think of tree-lined streets, trails, and parks as "nice but not
necessary add-ons," according to a new report commissioned by the TKF
Foundation. The report shows wide gaps in understanding between members of the
public and experts on the health benefits of nature, the value of daily
exposure to nature, how landscape design can enhance nature's health and social
benefits, and how the presence of green space and trees can boost neighborhood
and, by extension, community connections. The members of the public surveyed
also don't perceive the typical differences in the amount of trees and parks
available to wealthy and poorer urban neighborhoods and so don't see it as a
major equity issue. Urban nature is simply not a top priority. As one survey
respondent said, "Nature doesn't pay the bills."
Some may
argue that the best way to get more of the public to demand the creation of
more parks, trails, and green streets (and other beautification efforts) is to
undertake a broad communications campaign to educate the public about the
health benefits of nature. Personally, I think a more grassroots approach may
be better – one that involves the folks who are in the green industry (growers,
landscape service firms, and retails firms) as well as members of local gardening
and civic clubs and community organizations, and of course, America in Bloom
participants.
The good
news is that many mayors and cities already get the value of access to beautiful
scenes of nature, even in car-centric places like Houston, which is investing
huge sums in new parks and trails. As momentum builds and more cities act, we
can imagine a future where people in all of a city's neighborhoods enjoy a
daily nature outing because nature is everywhere, but this future will take
lots more work our part to achieve. Rally the troops and let’s get it done!
Posts
