A place-based participatory mapping approach for assessing cultural ecosystem services in urban green space

Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) encompass a range of social, cultural and health benefits to local communities, for example recreation, spirituality, a sense of place and local identity. However, these complex and place-specific CES are often overlooked in rapid land management decisions and assessed using broad, top-down approaches. We use the Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment (TESSA) to examine a novel approach to rapid assessment of local CES provision using inductive, participatory methods. We combined free-listing and participatory geographic information systems (GIS) techniques to quantify and map perceptions of current CES provision of an urban green space. The results were then statistically compared with those of a proposed alternative scenario with the aim to inform future decision-making. By identifying changes in the spatial hotspots of CES in our study area, we revealed a spatially specific shift towards positive sentiment regarding several CES under the alternative state with variance across demographic and stakeholder groups. Response aggregations in areas of proposed development reveal previously unknown stakeholder preferences to local decision-makers and highlight potential trade-offs for conservation management. Free-listed responses revealed deeper insight into personal opinion and context. This work serves as a useful case study on how the perceptions and opinions of local people regarding local CES could be accounted for in the future planning of an urban greenspace and how thorough analysis of CES provision is important to fully inform local-scale conservation and planning for the mutual benefit of local communities and nature.