14 pages, In recent years, “urban greening” has become a new keyword in urban policy and practice, used to describe a proliferation of urban quality of life and environmental sustainability initiatives including street trees, public parks, greenways, farmers' markets, green roofs, and LEED certification in design. The emerging critical literature on urban greening has highlighted important ways green's social and economic added value affects the political economy of contemporary greening and produces inequalities in access to real or perceived environmental goods. However, such research has only infrequently asked why and under what conditions naturalized understandings of green as “good” make it possible for such initiatives to add value in the first place. As a result, it offers only partial explanations of why green has the effects it has—for instance, increasing property values—and only very rarely questions the fundamental “good” of nature itself. I argue that integrating insights on green's naturalized social and economic value from a growing body of social-theoretical work across geography and the social sciences can complement political economic explanations for greening and provide new vantage points for critique.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08863
Notes:
Pages 15-35 in Ormrod, James S. (ed.), Changing our environment, changing ourselves: nature, labour, knowledge and alienation. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan UK, London. 315 pages.
Chang, Chia-chen (author), Jia Yi Cheng, Gwyneth (author), Nghiem, Thi Phuong Le (author), Carrasco, L. Roman (author), Song, Xiao Ping (author), Rui Ying Oh, Rachel (author), and Richards, Daniel R. (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2020-03-05
Published:
UK: Nature Portfolio
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 207 Document Number: D13087
8 pages, Humans may have evolved a need to connect with nature, and nature provides substantial cultural and social values to humans. However, quantifying the connection between humans and nature at a global scale remains challenging. We lack answers to fundamental questions: how do humans experience nature in different contexts (daily routines, fun activities, weddings, honeymoons, other celebrations, and vacations) and how do nature experiences differ across countries? We answer these questions by coupling social media and artificial intelligence using 31,534 social media photographs across 185 countries. We find that nature was more likely to appear in photographs taken during a fun activity, honeymoon, or vacation compared to photographs of daily routines. More importantly, the proportion of photographs with nature taken during fun activities is associated with national life satisfaction scores. This study provides global evidence of the biophilia hypothesis by showing a connection between humans and nature that contributes to life satisfaction and highlights how nature serves as background to many of our positive memories.
Cunningham, Saul A. (author) and CSIRO, Land and Water, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Fenner School for Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2017-02
Published:
Australia: Blackwell Publishing
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 162 Document Number: D08137
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08868
Notes:
Pages 215-256 in Ormrod, James S. (ed.), Changing our environment, changing ourselves: nature, labour, knowledge and alienation. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan UK, London. 315 pages.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08869
Notes:
Pages 257-287 in Ormrod, James S. (ed.), Changing our environment, changing ourselves: nature, labour, knowledge and alienation. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan UK, London. 315 pages.
