People's Preferences for Greenway Landscapes:
Survey Ratings of Indianapolis Trails
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People's Preferences for Greenway Landscapes: Survey Ratings of Indianapolis Trails
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Who sponsored this project? The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Division of Community Forestry provided funding for this project. The Greenways Division of the Indianapolis Department of Parks and Recreation also cooperated with the study. Students in the Master of Planning (MPl) and the Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs (BSPA) programs in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) also participated in the project. Teams of students in the Planning Workshop (P610) in the fall of 1999 and in the Workshop in Greenway Management (E400) in summer 2000 worked on surveys and completed research that provided background information for this study.
What were the purpose, goals, and objectives of this project? The purpose of the study was to learn more about urban greenway trail landscapes that people find attractive and safe. The main goal was to produce information and examples that trail planners and managers can use to increase perceived attractiveness and safety of trails. The main objective of the survey was to measure the visual preferences of a sample of Indianapolis-Marion County heads of households for landscapes of Indianapolis greenways. In other words, researchers sought to determine the features of trails that are valued by the general population. Other related objectives included:
Why is information about people’s preferences for greenway landscapes important? Information about people’s preferences for greenway landscapes is important for many reasons, but mainly to help planners and managers design, build, and maintain trails that people find attractive and safe. By taking people’s preferences into consideration when developing and maintaining trails, managers can both attract new users and increase the satisfaction of current users. Providing opportunities for the public to participate in greenway management and design also may help to create a stronger sense of community.
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How was the study designed? The research team designed a mail survey in which people were asked to rate the attractiveness and safety of 20 different photographs of greenway landscapes from five different Indianapolis greenways: the Monon Trail, the Canal Towpath, the White River Trail, the Pleasant Run Trail, and the Fall Creek Trail. These photographs illustrated the range of different landscapes in the Indianapolis greenways system with respect to features like trail surface, level of maintenance, and adjacent use. The photographs, which were taken with a Sony Mavica ã (MVC-FD91) digital camera, were presented in black and white in the questionnaire.
Two statements followed by five point scales were below each photograph in the questionnaire. The statements were: This
photograph represents an attractive/safe trail. The points on each scale were:
What trail characteristics were studied? Five characteristics of trails were studied to see if their presence in a photograph affected how people rated the photographs with respect to attractiveness and safety. Researchers wanted to see if people thought a trail was either more attractive or safe if it included: asphalt rather than other surfaces; was curved rather than straight; was highly maintained; had water near the trail; and lacked human alternations such as buildings or bridges. Examples of photographs with each of these factors are:
Researchers also explored the relationship between people’s backgrounds and their ratings of photographs. Demographic and behavioral variables that were tested included gender, age, income, education, race, and trail use.
[Top] Who was surveyed, and how was the survey conducted? The research team wanted to survey both trail users and non-users from Indianapolis-Marion County. The team purchased a list of 400 households that had been selected randomly from all households in Indianapolis-Marion County. The team mailed each household a questionnaire in August, 2001. One week later, each household was sent a post card that reminded them to complete the survey. Two weeks after the post card, the team sent each household that had not responded a replacement questionnaire. One hundred thirty seven people (34%) completed the survey. A response rate of 34% is reasonable for mail surveys. However, because more users than non-users responded, and because the incomes and education of the respondents were higher than those for the adult population in Marion County, the results may not be representative of the entire population of Marion County. The results do, however, provide insight into trail features that affect perceptions of attractiveness and safety and into differences in perceptions between users and non-users.
How were the results analyzed? The research team analyzed the results using standard statistical procedures available in commercially available software (Excel ã; SPSS ã). Regression analysis was used to explore the effects of different trail characteristics and demographics of respondents on the ratings of photographs. The results of regression analyses provided an indication whether specific features are correlated with higher or lower ratings. The results section focuses on discussion of variables that had significant effects on ratings.
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People's Preferences for Greenway Landscapes: Survey Ratings of Indianapolis Trails http://www.trailsurvey.urbancenter.iupui.edu
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