Environmental Issues

The article Transforming Inner-City Landscapes queries the inner-city residents response to landscaping projects in their courtyard. It generally dwells on the relationship of the incorporation and placement of trees, and grass vegetation in urban public housing with the residents preference and sense of safety. The responses of surveyed individuals would give land developers a general idea of residents preference and are primarily important so to assess if landscaping is a better idea, and if yes, what technique or style to be conducted.

    The research design was conducted by surveying 100 residents of Chicagos Robert Taylor Homes. Photo simulations of the neighborhood courtyard were shown depicting tree density, tree placement,  and  grass maintenance whereas surveyed residents were asked to rate photos they felt more beautiful and more safe living into (0 not at all and 4 very much). Average ratings have shown that the bare arrangement of the present courtyard was less appealing to residents (M  0.3 rating for the current courtyard look).  On the other hand, the presence of trees had very strong and positive effects on the residents (M  1.3)2. According to the article, tree density and grass maintenance have a direct relationship with residents preference and sense of safety. The presence of trees does make them feel more secure and more fond of to the open space.  On the other hand, tree placement has inconsistent correlation with the residents sense of safety. The effect of the trees spatial distributions vary significantly for the respondents, but it was observed that the blocked views lessen residents sense of safety.

    In effect, the research has shown that residents have a positive feedback to landscaping inner cities. Not only does it increase the beauty of the neighborhoods open space, it also adds to the sense of security of its residents. In addition, landscaping can also mitigate unconstructive environmental impacts of urban development, help lessen overcrowding in housing units, provide a play haven for children, boost physical and psychological health of residents, and potentially decrease crimes in the neighborhood.

    Primarily, the purpose of the study is to discern whether landscaping is a viable idea. As shown by the respondents, incorporation of trees and grass vegetation have positive effects. On another note, the respondents only constitute a very small portion of inner-city residents population and the results shown may not be same in all cases. It is essential to conduct more research andor surveys to the concerned population so to determine if landscaping should be done in a certain neighborhood.