TREES AND BUSINESS DISTRICT PREFERENCES: A CASE STUDY OF ATHENS, GEORGIA, U.S.

Journal of Arboriculture, Nov 2004 by Wolf, Kathleen L

Abstract. As a National Main Street program participant, Athens, Georgia, U.S., has included streetscape tree plantings in economic development efforts. The Main Street program assists downtown merchant groups with physical improvements planning in order to create vital retail environments. If comprehensively managed, the urban forest can be a beneficial long-term improvement. Nonetheless, business people and merchants often have negative perceptions about trees (such as debris and reduced sign visibility) and may influence local policy and budget support for urban forest programs. This study utilized an on-site survey to elicit preference and perceptual response from visitors of the Athens central business district. The presence of a full-canopy forest was found to be associated with higher visual quality ratings of the retail district. District visitors also perceived the streetscape canopy to be an integral amenity of the city's shopping environment. Quantitative and qualitative research outcomes are reported.

Key Words. Urban forestry; retail; business districts; environment and behavior; landscape preference.

Athens, Georgia, U.S., home of the University of Georgia, is a distinctive college town, yet its central business district (CBD) has traits that are typical of many mid-sized American cities. Using Athens as a case study, associations between urban forest conditions and consumer preferences and perceptions were studied, to better understand the value of urban nature in creating and maintaining vital business districts. The Athens business community participates in the U.S. National Main Street program. The program's technical assistance enables many cities to implement successful economic development, architectural restoration, and marketing practices. This research may promote better integration of urban forestry with economic revitalization efforts in Main Street program cities.

LITERATURE AND BACKGROUND

Downtown revitalization programs are often launched due to the exodus of major retailers from the city core to regional shopping malls, or competition from big box discount retailers. Revitalization efforts are intended to create places that have a character or appeal that outweighs the vast product offerings and/or discount pricing of competitive retailers.

The social context of this study exemplifies situations found in many cities. As a long-term participant in the U.S. National Main Street program, Athens has successfully implemented various district improvements. Ongoing urban forestry activities have been based on implicit, but untested, assumptions that trees contribute to a favorable consumer environment.

Consumers and Nature

Better understanding of the psychological response of people to both consumer environments and landscapes is central to the success of CBD urban forestry efforts. Human cognitive appraisal of both environments is more complex than mere stimulus response to pleasant appearances.

Shopping and purchasing involve complex cognitive processes. The consumer is aware of some evaluations, while others are nonconscious (Veryzer 1999). Attribution theory describes the inclination of people to subjectively project the traits or satisfactions of a past experience on to a new situation (Weiner 2000). An example is the inferences and impressions of product or store quality that shoppers make upon observing store-based cues (Jacoby and Olson 1987). Visual cues trigger responses to new settings based on both immediate information and recollections.

Store image, or the way in which a store is defined in the shopper's mind, is a cognitive assessment that includes functional qualities and an aura of psychological attitudes (Martineau 1958). Bitner (1992) noted that even before purchase, consumers commonly look for cues about a firm's capabilities and quality. An array of attributes that contribute to store image was identified by Lindquist (1975) and included physical facilities. Store image influences consumers' perceptions of quality of, value of, and willingness to buy products (Dodds et al. 1991).

Psychological response to urban landscapes also includes a complex array of perceptual and cognitive processes (Kaplan and Kaplan 1989). Some investigations have assessed response of people to particular trees in proximity (Sommer 1991; Schroeder and Ruffolo 1996). Others have evaluated the general meaning and values that trees represent for people in urban environments (Chenowith and Gobster 1990; Hull 1992). Natural amenities influence the public's perceptions of urban place and function (Hudspeth 1986; Herzog 1989).

Research Questions

Cities contain sizeable areas of retail and commercial land cover. There is extensive evidence of psychosocial benefits from nature in cities (Dwyer et al. 1994; Kuo 2003), but the nature response research has focused on residential and recreational settings and reveals little about urban forest perceptions in retail and commercial districts (Dwyer et al. 1992). In marketing research, the physical setting where product or service and purchaser come into contact has received little attention (Engel et al. 1990), and most studies have addressed indoor environments.