Explaining the Attitude-Behavior Gap in Urban Renaturation: Landscape Appropriation in Batna, Algeria
This study investigates the attitude-behavior gap regarding urban renaturation in Batna, Algeria, revealing that while residents strongly value nature and are dissatisfied with current green spaces, their actual engagement is unevenly constrained by limited conceptual awareness, education levels, and gendered access patterns.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
Cities are often imagined as concrete jungles, places where nature is pushed to the edges or kept in neat, manicured boxes. Yet, as populations grow and pollution rises, a growing number of planners and scientists are asking how to bring the wild back into the heart of the city. This idea, known as urban renaturation, goes beyond simply planting more trees or adding a few flowers to a park. It is about intentionally rebuilding the relationship between people and the natural world, creating spaces where nature is not just a decoration but a living part of daily life. The challenge, however, is not just about building these spaces; it is about understanding how people actually feel about them and whether they will use them. In many parts of the world, surveys show that people say they love nature and want more of it in their cities. But when researchers look at how people actually behave, a gap often appears between what people say they want and what they do. This disconnect is a central puzzle for anyone trying to design greener, healthier cities.
In the mid-sized Algerian city of Batna, two researchers set out to investigate this gap. Batna sits in a natural basin surrounded by mountains, a geography that traps industrial fumes from nearby factories, creating a persistent haze over the city. The urban landscape there is under pressure, with limited green spaces and a need for better environmental management. To understand how the people of Batna relate to nature, the team combined two different approaches. First, they asked 202 residents a series of questions about their views on green spaces, their knowledge of environmental concepts, and their hopes for the city's future. Second, they spent a full year watching how people actually used a specific public walkway in the city center. They did not just ask people what they thought; they observed what they did, recording every interaction between the residents and the plants, trees, and animals around them. This method allowed them to compare the spoken opinions of the city's inhabitants with their real-world actions.
The results revealed a city that deeply values nature but struggles with the details of how to live with it. When asked, nearly everyone agreed that nature makes life better. Almost all respondents said that green spaces improve well-being and the look of the city, and a vast majority expressed dissatisfaction with the current lack of quality green areas. They blamed pollution and poor maintenance more than a lack of interest. However, when the researchers asked if people knew the specific term "renaturation," most did not. While residents understood the general benefits of nature, they were unfamiliar with the technical concept of intentionally restoring human-nature relationships. This suggests that the barrier is not a lack of care, but a lack of a shared name and clear picture for the kind of change they are being asked to support.
The gap between saying and doing became even clearer when looking at who uses the green spaces. While almost everyone agreed nature was good, only about one-third of the people surveyed said they visited green spaces regularly. The data showed that this underuse was not because people didn't care, but because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable. Women, in particular, reported being much less satisfied with the current spaces and visited them far less often than men. The primary reason people gave for avoiding these areas was pollution and poor cleanliness, not a dislike of nature itself. The researchers found that the city's green spaces were seen as unevenly distributed, with some neighborhoods having much better access than others, creating a sense of unfairness among the residents.
When the researchers watched people on the ground, they saw a pattern of behavior that largely matched the positive attitudes expressed in the surveys, but with important differences based on age and gender. The majority of interactions observed were positive. People were seen resting on the grass, taking photos of plants and birds, and even feeding animals. There was a noticeable sense of informal care, with some adults spontaneously watering plants or picking up trash. However, the way different groups interacted with nature varied significantly. Children were active and tactile, often touching plants and playing with animals, but they were also the group most likely to accidentally damage flowers or trample grass. Adults tended to be more contemplative, often taking photographs or simply sitting and observing, and they were the ones most likely to engage in informal maintenance. The elderly group was the most respectful of the plants, rarely damaging anything, but they were also the most likely to avoid animals, often due to fear of noise or the creatures themselves.
The study also highlighted that the desire to act on these positive feelings was not evenly spread across the population. While most people said they were willing to help, the actual willingness to engage in environmental projects was strongly linked to education. Those with higher levels of education were more likely to feel confident in their ability to participate. Furthermore, when people did want to get involved, they preferred to do so through official channels and with the support of the government, rather than organizing on their own. This suggests that for renaturation to work in Batna, it cannot rely on spontaneous volunteerism alone; it needs clear, trusted pathways for citizens to get involved.
The researchers concluded that the people of Batna are ready for a greener city, but the current system is failing to connect their desire with their daily reality. The problem is not that residents do not value nature; they do, overwhelmingly. The problem is that the spaces provided are often dirty, unsafe, or poorly maintained, which discourages people from using them. The study suggests that the path forward is not to try to convince people that nature is important, but to fix the practical barriers that stop them from enjoying it. This means improving cleanliness and safety, ensuring that green spaces are available in all neighborhoods, and creating clear ways for citizens to help manage these spaces. By addressing these practical issues, the city can turn the widespread love for nature that already exists in the hearts of its residents into a shared, living reality. The findings from Batna offer a hopeful sign that even in a city facing significant environmental challenges, the foundation for a sustainable future is already there, waiting to be unlocked by better planning and governance.
Drowning in papers in your field?
Get daily digests of the most novel papers matching your research keywords — with technical summaries, in your language.