CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2021
| Author | Hodzic, Halima |
|---|---|
| Title | The Evolving Role of Urban Green Spaces in Pandemic-stricken Cities: The Impact of Covid-19 on the Perception and Use of Green Spaces in the City of Vienna |
| Summary | The global Covid-19 pandemic has had an overwhelming impact on urban life and resulted in unprecedented changes in the way people work, move around the city and interact with each other. Beyond the need to limit the virus transmissions, the question of individual and social resilience and ability to cope with the adverse effects of pandemic measures has been raised. Urban green spaces have been suggested as one possible way to increase pandemic resilience in cities, considering their multiple benefits and services for people’s physical and psychological health as well as social and community cohesion during a time of a crisis. This research aims to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the perceptions and use of urban green spaces in Vienna. I conducted an online survey and explored changes in use of green spaces as well as people’s needs, preferences and satisfaction with urban green spaces during the pandemic. Results showed that the use of green spaces in Vienna during the pandemic has increased among the surveyed population. The respondents used green spaces mainly for physical exercise, relaxing, stress reduction and observing nature. Moreover, frequenting green areas has been important to people’s physical and mental health as well as for combatting feelings of isolation and loneliness. Results also showed that people were mostly dissatisfied about the high number of people that frequented urban green spaces in Vienna, making them overcrowded and thus reducing their value and benefits. A preference and need for more, larger and more natural green spaces has been indicated. |
| Supervisor | Laszlo Pinter |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2021/hodzic_halima.pdf |
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