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Land
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Towards Sustainable Residential Landscape Designs
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Towards Sustainable Residential Landscape Designs

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Planning and Landscape Architecture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 7891

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hayk Khachatryan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Food and Resource Economics Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Interests: consumer behavior; choice analysis; pro-environmental behavior; urban environmental policy; GIS
Dr. Xumin Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Business Programs Economics, Santa Fe College, 3000 NW 83 St, Gainesville, FL 32606, USA
Interests: consumer behavior; choice modeling; pro-environmental behavior; preference on pet expenditure and veterinary service

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

Previous research identified urbanization as one of the primary driving forces causing landscape change (Hersperger & Bürgi, 2009). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. urban areas have increased by 12.1% between 2000 and 2010 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015). As indispensable part of urban developments, urban landscapes are composed of many components with tree canopies covering 35.1% (Nowak et al., 2010) and turfgrass lawns accounting for approximately 23% of urban areas (Milesi et al., 2005). With the increasing trends in urbanization and the influence of landscapes on humans and the environment, encouraging the adoption of sustainable landscapes enables improving lifestyle qualities while minimizing potential environmental consequences. However, as summarized by Zhang and Khachatryan, 2021 (see also Khachatryan et al. 2020), a poor landscape management may result in fertilizer run-off, water pollution, eutrophication, or algae blooms, to name only few. The literature is abundant of studies highlighting the potential benefits of low-input urban landscapes in and around cities. However, many investigations do not delve deep into consumers’ preferences and perceptions of alternative landscapes, to inform practitioners’ land and water management decisions.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bridge the gap between environmental conservations elements in residential landscape designs and relevant socio-economic factors.

References

Hersperger, A.M.; Bürgi, M. Going beyond landscape change description: Quantifying the importance of driving forces of landscape change in a Central Europe case study. Land Use Policy 2009, 26, 640–648.

Khachatryan, H.; Rihn, A.; Hansen, G.; Clem, T. Landscape Aesthetics and Maintenance Perceptions: Assessing the Relationship between Homeowners’ Visual Attention and Landscape Care Knowledge. Land Use Policy 2020, 95, 104645.

Milesi, C.; Running, S.W.; Elvidge, C.D.; Dietz, J.B.; Tuttle, B.T.; Nemani, R.R. Mapping and modeling the biogeochemical cycling of turf grasses in the United States. Environmental Management 2005, 36, 426–438.

Nowak, D.J.; Stein, S.M.; Randler, P.B.; Greenfield, E.J.; Comas, S.J.; Carr, M.A.; Alig, R.J. Sustaining America’s Urban Trees and Forests. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, General Technical Report NRS-62, 2010.

U.S. Census Bureau, 2015. 2010 Census urban and rural classification and urban area criteria. Retrieved September 9, 2021. Available online: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/urban-rural/2010-urban-rural.html

Zhang, X.; Khachatryan, H. Interactive effects of homeowners’ environmental concerns and rebate incentives on preferences for low-input residential landscapes. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 2021, 65, 127322.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Consumer perceptions of sustainability-driven landscape attributes;
  • Effects of price and non-price urban landscaping policies on households’ behaviors;
  • Preferences and valuation for low-input residential landscapes;
  • Landscape aesthetics and maintenance perceptions;
  • Preferences and valuation for native plants in landscape designs;
  • Preferences and valuation for pollinator friendly landscape attributes;
  • Preferences and valuation for low irrigation partial turfgrass lawns;
  • Sensor-based lawn maintenance technology adoption;

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Hayk Khachatryan
Dr. Xumin Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • urban landscapes
  • low-input landscapes
  • adoption behaviors
  • technology adoption
  • urban environmental conservation
  • landscape maintenance
  • partial turfgrass lawn
  • smart irrigation system
  • pollinator-friendly landscapes

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 7050 KiB  
Article
Towards Child-Friendly Streetscape in Migrant Workers’ Communities in China: A Social–Ecological Design Framework
by Qianxi Zhang, Xinkai Wang, Yat Ming Loo, Wu Deng, Weixuan Chen, Mindong Ni and Ling Cheng
Land 2023, 12(10), 1826; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12101826 - 25 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2007
Abstract
Designing child-friendly streetscapes is a pragmatic and effective approach to addressing the limited outdoor play spaces and social exclusion experienced by migrant children living in vulnerable residential areas. However, the existing research and guidelines on streetscape design lack specificity for migrant workers’ communities [...] Read more.
Designing child-friendly streetscapes is a pragmatic and effective approach to addressing the limited outdoor play spaces and social exclusion experienced by migrant children living in vulnerable residential areas. However, the existing research and guidelines on streetscape design lack specificity for migrant workers’ communities and fail to provide full-cycle design process guidance for real-world practices. By taking a social–ecological perspective and synthesizing the existing literature, this paper develops an integrated design framework with seven indicators to guide three stages of child-friendly streetscape regeneration in migrant workers’ communities. The effectiveness of this framework was validated by application in a case project in a typical migrant workers’ community in Ningbo, China. The results show that the social–ecological design framework can help maximize opportunities for various children’s activities on the street with limited spatial resources. It also contributes to creating inclusive streetscapes to promote social cohesion by integrating social and cultural elements, children’s participation, and place-making activities. However, institutional barriers, cultural norms, and limited resources impede children’s participation and sustainable operations, which calls for more attention to be paid to “software” building. The new framework and research findings serve as a valuable guide and reference for practitioners in the field of child-friendly environmental design, especially in the context of marginalized communities in developing countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Sustainable Residential Landscape Designs)
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17 pages, 1237 KiB  
Article
Does the Perceived Effectiveness of Voluntary Conservation Programs Affect Household Adoption of Sustainable Landscaping Practices?
by Xumin Zhang and Hayk Khachatryan
Land 2023, 12(7), 1429; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12071429 - 17 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 897
Abstract
State and local governments have implemented voluntary and mandatory programs to conserve and protect natural resources in and around urban developments. Even though the long-term environmental benefits are apparent, convincing homeowners to adopt sustainable landscapes with less water and chemical use is challenging. [...] Read more.
State and local governments have implemented voluntary and mandatory programs to conserve and protect natural resources in and around urban developments. Even though the long-term environmental benefits are apparent, convincing homeowners to adopt sustainable landscapes with less water and chemical use is challenging. An important consideration from the successful policy implementation point of view is that homeowners have different environmental attitudes, which can be the determining factor that influences their adoption intentions of sustainable landscaping practices. This study assesses whether homeowners’ environmental attitude is a statistically significant predictor of sustainable landscape adoption intention. Moreover, homeowners’ perception of the effectiveness of the voluntary environmental programs may be influenced by their environmental attitudes and impose mediating effects on sustainable landscape adoption intentions. We also examine whether homeowners’ perceived effectiveness of voluntary environmental programs has a mediating effect on the adoption decision. The Value-Belief-Norm hierarchical model framework is utilized to examine both effects. The results revealed that homeowners’ pro-environmental attitudes influence their perceived effectiveness of voluntary programs and their sustainable landscape adoption intentions. The combined influence accounts for 13.6% of homeowners’ adoption intention. Homeowners’ personal norms also affect their perceived effectiveness of voluntary programs (9% variance explained), and the mediating effect of the perceived effectiveness of voluntary programs has an amplifying effect and positively influences the adoption intention. The implications for policymakers in the realm of landscape conservation programs are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Sustainable Residential Landscape Designs)
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18 pages, 1350 KiB  
Article
Residential Adoption of Best Landscape Management Practices: Effects of Outreach to Reduce Non-Point Source Pollution
by Lillian Hayden, Lorence R. Oki, Darren Haver, Tamara Majcherek, Karey Windbiel-Rojas and Mary L. Cadenasso
Land 2023, 12(2), 382; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020382 - 31 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1639
Abstract
Urban waterways degradation due to runoff from residential areas can be reduced by adopting best management practices (BMPs) for irrigation, fertilizer, and pesticide use. Although stormwater runoff from urban areas has been studied extensively, we focus on single-family residential land use specifically. Outreach [...] Read more.
Urban waterways degradation due to runoff from residential areas can be reduced by adopting best management practices (BMPs) for irrigation, fertilizer, and pesticide use. Although stormwater runoff from urban areas has been studied extensively, we focus on single-family residential land use specifically. Outreach to individual households may have a measurable impact since decisions are being made here. We surveyed households to evaluate the effectiveness of education and outreach campaigns on self-reported use of water and chemicals and evaluated whether self-reported behaviors were reflected in the quality and quantity of water draining from the study areas before and after outreach efforts. Our research was conducted in California, which has a Mediterranean climate with distinct wet and dry periods. Runoff from residential landscapes during the dry season enters waterways undiluted by rainwater, making this runoff particularly detrimental to receiving waters. No significant differences in behavior and BMP adoption from before and after the education and outreach campaign was found. These results are not atypical and may be explained by several factors including the population approach to the survey, lag times between outreach and measurable effects, and the need for a critical threshold of adoption to be met for effects to be measurable. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Sustainable Residential Landscape Designs)
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23 pages, 5829 KiB  
Article
Community Drawing and Storytelling to Understand the Place Experience of Walking and Cycling in Dushanbe, Tajikistan
by Carl A. Smith
Land 2023, 12(1), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12010043 - 24 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2311
Abstract
Transit infrastructure is a critical determinant of the layout and sustainability performance of residential landscapes and neighborhoods. Though the spatial aspects of transit design and their associated impact on health, congestion, air pollution, accident rates, and emissions of greenhouse gases are well understood, [...] Read more.
Transit infrastructure is a critical determinant of the layout and sustainability performance of residential landscapes and neighborhoods. Though the spatial aspects of transit design and their associated impact on health, congestion, air pollution, accident rates, and emissions of greenhouse gases are well understood, the experiential-qualitative aspects of mobility have often been ignored in the travel and transport literature. This paper presents the place-understandings of pedestrians and cyclists concerning neighborhood safety in Dushanbe, the capital city of Tajikistan. Community perspectives were captured through drawing and storytelling workshops as a method of public engagement through creative experience. While reporting on the veracity of this collaborative, creative, and place-based methodology, the paper presents workshop outcomes that describe problematic non-auto neighborhood transit experiences that, if unchecked, could constitute a significant challenge to the sustainable post-Soviet transformation of Dushanbe’s residential neighborhoods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Sustainable Residential Landscape Designs)
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