The Perception of Urban Residents on Creation and Management of Community Gardens

Abstract

This study analyzed the factors affecting urban residents' expectations and participation in community gardens to present basic data of guidelines for community garden management. Urban citizens valued the necessity of community gardens overall, especially residents with outdoor gardens. The experience of private gardens was important in perceiving the need for community gardens, which are public spaces. The creation of community gardens had high expectations for social aspects such as improving quality of life, health promotion, and community revitalization. In particular, residents living in individual housing have high expectations for revitalization of the community, and community gardens can be a mediator for forming and maintaining local communities. Through this, the citizens' perception on the role and function of the garden as a community space could be examined. Expectations for quality of life, health promotion, and community revitalization are factors affecting the necessity of community garden. Participation was high in the creation and management of the community garden, and the necessity of community gardens, expectation for community revitalization, and expectation for environmental purification are factors that affect participation in the management of community gardens. The amount of donations that the residents are willing to pay for community garden management was KRW 75,222 /year on average. Overall, residents with higher need for community gardens and higher social expectation showed higher participation. Urban citizens have high expectations for community gardens, and they perceive the importance of social aspects more than personal aspects such as community revitalization and quality of life. As a strategy for increasing community involvement, it is necessary to set up the processes, determine participants' composition and roles, and establish a system to promote participation. Considering welfare aspects such as community revitalization and improvement of residents’ quality of life, motivation and administrative support for participation in the creation and management of community gardens will serve as important factors.