The impact of socioeconomic factors on urban residential garden management : A case study in the Gampaha divisional secretariat area

Abstract

With rapid urbanization and limited availability of land, the conservation value of residential landscapes is becoming increasingly apparent. These urban landscapes enable people to reconnect with nature, while providing a variety of ecosystem services. The present study evaluated the socio-economic and knowledge-related drivers responsible for residential garden management in the Gampaha Divisional Secretariat (DS). A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to collect the socio-demographic details and garden management practices of 50 randomly selected households located within a 2 km radius from the city center. The physical conditions of the surveyed gardens, garden design characteristics, maintenance level of soft and hard landscape materials were evaluated through a garden survey, which was conducted during July to December, 2020. The Chi- square test of association was used to identify the significant socio-economic factors that influenced the quality of home gardens. The majority of respondents were 51-65 years old (41.7%), followed by >65 years (25%) and 36–50-years old (25%). Around 45.8% of the study population had completed a degree, while 41.7% had completed Advanced Level. Retired household heads dominated the sample (37.5%), followed by people occupied in the private sector (29.2%). Most families resided in privately owned houses (95.8%) for more than 20 years (75%). A high fraction of home gardens was either self-designed (37.5%) or non-designed (37.5%), while a professional landscape designer had designed only 16.7%. Nearly 66.7% of the gardens were maintained by the family members, while 29.2% of the gardens were maintained by skilled labourers. The majority (54.7%) of families spent only one day per week to maintain their home gardens. Interestingly, only 8% of residential gardens were of “high quality”, in terms of the design, plant composition, and maintenance, while 11% were “poorly designed”. According to the Chi-square test, only occupation, number of family members, number of residential years, designer of the home gardens, and time spent on garden maintenance were significantly associated (p<0.05) with the overa l quality of the residential gardens. Residential landscapes have a high spatial heterogeneity with a complex suite of factors. Therefore, understanding the socio-economic drivers of urban residential garden maintenance is critical to ensure successful implementation of policies to conserve urban biodiversity, as residential landscapes make up a significant percentage of urban spaces.