Which Kind of nature is LiKed in urban context? A case study of soLarcity Linz, Austria

Abstract

The negative environmental effects of urban sprawl compared to compact cities are well documented. Unlike in many compact cities, nature in suburban areas is accessible in many forms. The use of the only positive effect of suburbanisation – better access to nature – is worth having a closer look at. In a study in the suburban areas of Linz, Austria, this subject matter was investigated. Finished in 2005, the SolarCity Linz was built for 3,500 new suburban residents, and it is located within walking distance to the urban protected area “Natura 2000 Traun-Danube Alluvial Forest”, which features a newly-established landscape park in between. In a survey, 153 inhabitants were questioned on their behaviour, their preferences and their relations to the different natural surroundings. The same was done in a survey of the visitors of the urban protected area (91 interviews), using pictures illustrating a gradient of nature types between wilderness and well-maintained recreational green. A large proportion of inhabitants (75%) and visitors of the urban protected area (66%) was not aware of the protection status. The majority in both questionings appreciates the wilderness in the protected area, but only one third of the questioned residents are users of it. The newly-established landscape park has the highest user preference (more than two thirds). A clear majority of questioned residents (73%) prefer to use the well-maintained landscape park over the accessible wilderness of the Natura 2000 area. Preferred utilisation activities in the protected area are walking (28%), nature observation (24%), relaxing (18%) and sports (6%). The favoured activities relaxation, meeting others and walking are mostly pursued in the landscape park or in urban green. Nature is important for 54% of all respondents, but the preferred kind of nature depends on acceptance, safe accessibility, and infrastructure quality. These findings can be used to successfully integrate different types of nature into the urban pattern in a way that people better benefit from urban nature and to better protect nature close to urban areas. Since these aims are not limited to suburban areas, they have potential to be realised in sustainable city concepts as well.