Factors determining on-site perception of ecosystem services and disservices from street trees in a densely urbanized area

Abstract Recent studies have increasingly explored peoples’ perceptions of urban greenspaces to incorporate their consensus and preference into a more feasible design and planning of urban ecosystems. However, little is known about the relative importance of several factors determining perceptions of urban street trees, which is fundamental to unveiling the full picture of perception. Here, we examined the influences of possible factors ranging from social to environmental ones on people’s on-site perception of street trees in the Minatomirai-21 district in the Tokyo-Yokohama region. Using a structured questionnaire, we conducted a survey to enquire about on-site perceptions of the ecosystem services and disservices potentially provided by street trees. Results suggested that attributes of urban building environments (street width and building height) and street trees (tree density and height, as well as dominant planted species) had little effect on the on-site perceptions of street trees. Instead, the results generally showed that on-site perceptions differed according to age, gender, and season. Relatively high perceptions of positive aspects of street trees, regardless of their attributes across sites, probably reflected people's satisfaction with street trees and streetscapes in the Minatomirai-21 district. Moreover, in the context of people's perception, our results suggested that the negative effects of street trees on the quality of life are limited. We argue that ensuring a certain number of street trees, even in a densely urbanized area, should be essential to benefit the quality of life among various stakeholders such as visitors, office workers, and residents.