Urban forest usage and perception of ecosystem services – A comparison between teenagers and adults

Urban forests provide multiple ecosystem services for a range of user groups. However, teenagers are commonly underrepresented in studies about forest recreation and cultural ecosystem services. This paper examines teenagers' forest use and perception of ecosystem services compared to adult populations. We used an online panel survey to elicit motives for forest visits, frequency of visits, forest activities and constraints for visitation, and what ecosystem services participants expect from forests more generally. We then elicited perceived cultural ecosystem services of different forests by showing participants photographs of forest inventory plots for which we had detailed measures of physical forest characteristics to statistically assess the influence of forest characteristics and other parameters on perceived cultural ecosystem services. Results show that teenagers visit forests less often and also differ from adults in their preferences and activities, their motives for forest visits and reasons for not visiting forests. Teenagers exhibit more social and active forms of forest use, whereas adults use forests in more contemplative ways. Perception of cultural ecosystem services on forest photos was influenced by individual factors such as motives for forest visits, preferences, importance of forest during childhood and socio-demographic factors. Environment- and forest-related factors such as forest type, stand structure and single elements such as root plates and stumps had an influence on ecosystem service perception. We conclude that teenagers have different needs than adults concerning the provision of cultural ecosystem services from forests and therefore should be considered as a user group of its own in the management of recreational forests.     

Visitors’ heterogeneous preferences for urban park management: The case of a city park in Oulu,Finland

Utilizing survey data collected using a combined travel cost – conditional behavior method, the aim of this study was to analyze the heterogeneity of preferences among the residents of a city in Finland for the services of an urban park and its stream network. More specifically, by analyzing different behavioral responses to potential changes in ecological, cultural, and commercial services, we identified different groups of visitors to the park with a latent class model. A notable result regarding the demand for services in different classes was that low-income people valued the park more than high-income respondents, making improvements in the park’s recreational potential a successful social project. We found two latent classes, the main distinguishing factor of which was the preferences associated with increasing the number of events in the park. Adding events did not increase the benefits for the first class, but for the second class it did. In relation to class membership, if visitors usually visited the park alone or if they walked or cycled to the park, this increased the likelihood of belonging to a particular visitor group. In addition, we assessed how a possible increase in services affected the recreational value of the urban park for the city’s residents. We found that both the total and net value for different urban groups depended on three factors, i.e., the number of visits, the recreational value of a visit, and the proportion of people in each visitor group. We also used the results of the study to assess the profitability of a construction and management project in the park and found that the project was socially very profitable. Although our study examined a specific park in Finland, its results could also potentially be used when planning the management of other urban parks.     

大数据杀熟行为中的消费者权益保护——以司法判例为切入点

平台经济作为依托网络技术发展起来的新型经济形态,受到当前社会的普遍关注。大数据杀熟行为是平台经济发展的典型产物,其通常是利用消费者的消费频率、习惯、地域与能力等进行个性化定价,对消费者的知悉真情权、自主选择权、公平交易权与个人信息保护权均造成侵害。当前在对大数据杀熟行为中消费者权益进行保护时,存在大数据杀熟行为的认定标准模糊、相关部门监管能力不足、消费者维权机制缺乏与算法技术存在一定风险等问题。因此,应从完善相关法律法规、完善相关监管工作、加强对消费者权利救济与加强算法技术层面的治理着手,以实现对消费者权益的保护,维护网络平台经济秩序。     

“A living street and not just green”: Exploring public preferences and concerns regarding nature-based solution implementation in urban streetscapes

Leveraging the benefits offered by nature-based solutions (NBS) will be vital in addressing present and future environmental and social challenges as urban densification continues to exert pressure on cities. The greening of urban streets, in particular, provides many benefits in terms of livability, health, and biodiversity. While many studies have explored the suitability of NBS in a particular context considering the benefits they provide in relation to local environmental challenges (e.g. filtering the air in areas with high pollution, absorbing water in areas prone to flooding), this study focuses on residents’ perspectives on and their demand for NBS. This is particularly relevant given the importance of public acceptance of NBS measures for their success. The research presented in this paper is based on a mixed-methods study, combining an online survey and eight focus group interviews, which aimed to better understand which types of NBS people prefer, how much and what types of street space they are willing to exchange for street greening, and the opportunities and concerns they have regarding varying degrees of street greening. Findings suggest that respondents are overwhelmingly in favor of greening their street with NBS, yet preferred NBS and opinions on where to implement them vary among participants. Further, street greening was thought to come up against other understandings of how streets should be used and for what purpose. These considerations should be taken up by planners to improve the uptake of NBS.     

Urban residents value multi-functional urban greenspaces

Urban greenspaces are multifunctional spaces, providing services to people and biodiversity. With space in urban areas being limited creation and maintenance of urban greenspaces relies on understanding the preferences of urban residents for their characteristics. Such preferences are expected to vary with current availability, and the availability of alternatives to greenspaces such as gardens or gyms. We carried out a nationwide discrete choice experiment with Scottish urban residents to estimate values associated with greenspace attributes of: recreational features; plants and natural features; trees; accessibility; time to walk from home and size, to test the hypotheses that: (i) people are willing to pay to maintain greenspace, (ii) people have willingness to pay for greenspaces with multiple functions, including features for direct use (e.g. play equipment) and biodiversity (e.g. wildflowers), (iii) willingness to pay for individual greenspace will vary according to socioeconomic characteristics and (iv) vary with the amount of greenspace or substitute facilities available. We find a positive willingness to pay to maintain greenspace in general, and higher willingness to pay for larger greenspaces closer to home, which are multifunctional and contain both direct use features (e.g. children’s play park) and biodiversity features. Although we find significant heterogeneity in willingness to pay for maintaining greenspace, this is not well explained by either socioeconomic characteristics or the availability of substitute facilities. Our results have relevance for urban natural capital accounting, and demonstrate to urban planners the importance of the design and maintenance of multi-functional greenspaces for urban populations and would benefit from future research that further explores heterogeneity, including perceptions of greenspace access and substitutes, and greenspace quality.     

The advantage of mobile technologies in crowdsourcing landscape preferences: Testing a mobile app to inform planning decisions

Urban green spaces are vital for cities to achieve sustainability. Optimal design and management of green space is necessary to counter pressure from increased use due to urban densification and therefore needs to account for the preferences of its potential users. However, preference is inherently subjective and difficult to measure. This study tested a crowdsourcing method using a mobile app for on-site data collection to study the use of, perception of, and preferences for different green configurations in the Rembrandtpark, a large urban park in Amsterdam. Responses obtained through the mobile app were compared to those obtained through more traditional on-site and postal surveys to identify differences in sampled population and results. We found clear differences in respondent samples and in stated preferences when comparing the mobile app and the traditional survey methods. Mobile app respondents (n = 154) were younger and more willing to become more involved with park management. They were also less satisfied with most aspects of locations and found them more noisy. On-site survey respondents (n = 146) appeared more susceptible to response bias in their answers to certain questions. Employing different recruitment methods is important to engage different park user types and account for multiple perceptions.     

新修《消费者权益保护法》可否调整医患关系之研究

新修《消费者权益保护法》的立法精神中，“生活消费”具有市场终端性和市场议价性的特点，患者可属于消费者，医疗机构可属于经营者，医患关系可属于消费关系，因此，医患关系可受新修《消费者权益保护法》调整。《消费者权益保护法》与《医疗事故处理条例》、《侵权责任法》等不是互相排斥的关系，不能以医患关系的特殊性而否定其可适用《消费者权益保护法》。