Approaching The Community Garden: How Physical Features Affect Impression
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Despite the evidence documenting the beneficial effects of community gardens on health and community development, there exist many threats to public support. This study is an investigation of how various community garden features are associated with impression. A secondary aim of the study was to examine how prior experience with gardening might influence the relationship between community garden aesthetics and impression. In an online photo survey, respondents rated community garden scenes based on three components of impression: preference, safety, and public value. Results indicate that among several physical features evaluated, trees and other natural features, as well as maintenance style, have the most significant effects on impression. A moderate level of trees and other natural features was found to elicit the most positive safety ratings, however; a very high level of this feature received the highest public value ratings. Formal gardens received higher ratings than informal gardens for all three components of impression. Expertise was also found to moderate the relationship between these physical features and impression. The difference among experts was especially prounounced for community gardeners compared to both laypeople and urban planners.