Lifestyle and nature quality in urban greenspace

Urban green areas serve a number of social functions. They are places for being together in families and with friends. They are also places for casual meetings and maintenance of informal social networks. Furthermore, in urban green spaces people get an opportunity to observe and experience the urban diversity. When domestic and other everyday activities are extended into public green spaces, people become witnesses to each others’ lives. In that way public green spaces provide experiences of common citizenship. And as a contrast to social interaction, urban green areas also offer spaces for spending time alone. Here, people can get a chance to enjoy a sense of getting away and being gone.

Furthermore, green areas provide variation in the urban landscape and a contrast to built-up areas, and precisely this coexistence between city and nature is perceived as an important quality in urban life. Likewise, diversity of green areas – in terms of their size, their furnishing and facilities and the occurrence of plants and animals – is perceived as an important quality for urban life. Sensuous experiences of nature are sources of joy and improved life quality. People become attached to particular places and trees, and elements of urban nature are thereby woven into people’s life courses and everyday practices.

A biological assessment of the nature in Copenhagen’s green structure indicates that it is of a somewhat varied quality. The project has investigated nine specific localities across Copenhagen and nature quality has been assessed from a total of eight variables. Among the nine selected localities in the municipality of Copenhagen there are sub areas with nature quality as high as the national averages, but the average of all sub-areas investigated in this project is considerably lower than national averages. Poor nature quality in a specific locality is, however, not necessarily a result of intensified use of the locality. Good quality of nature can go hand in hand with high user quality. For instance, variations in the terrain, large stones, banks, and varied plantings of bushes and trees support a varied and robust flora and fauna while such features of the landscape also support social functions because they provide shelter and semi-secluded social spaces.