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

Journal of Arboriculture, Nov 2004 by Wolf, Kathleen L

The following research questions guided an investigation of visitor response to the urban forest in outdoor retail environments:

* Does the urban forest influence consumer judgments of visual quality?

* Are there variations in consumer response to streetscape trees, based on consumer traits?

* What are the perceptual responses of district visitors to streetscape trees?

Multiple methods were used, including psychological preference evaluation and contingent behavior scenarios, to ascertain consumer response to streetscapes. Preference and perceptual data are reported here; contingent behavior outcomes are reported elsewhere.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Data were obtained in a survey of visitors to the Athens business district in spring 2002. Prior studies of trees and consumer response (Wolf 2003b, 2004) utilized mailed surveys that did not query about local conditions. This on-site survey tested response to a familiar setting.

Case Study Site

Athens is located 105 km (65 mi) northeast of Atlanta, Georgia, and is the home of the University of Georgia. Athens is a historic center of commerce and industry for the region, but population migration to suburbs in the 1960s threatened the CBD. Merchants struggled to compete with new strip malls, then regional malls. The Athens Downtown Development Authority (ADDA) was created in 1977 to coordinate CBD revitalization. Athens became one of several pilot cities of the National Main Street program in 1980.

The Main Street Center, an affiliate of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, advocates urban revitalization using architectural resources and grassroots economic development. The Main Street program provides on-site technical assistance and community training materials. Success stories and techniques are shared via the National Main Street Network, annual conferences, and Main Street Awards program.

Consistent with Main Street program principles, ADDA has encouraged rehabilitation rather than demolition of downtown structures. Outdoor public spaces have been created to complement the historical building stock. ADDA hosts merchant networks and develops comprehensive marketing strategies to attract downtown visitors.

In the late 1970s, an expanding pop music industry fueled the transition of the CBD from a retail center to an entertainment district. Business conversion continued through the 1980s. During the 1990s, the CBD business cohort of nightlife entertainment and specialty retail (e.g., art, jewelry, music) matured.

Trees have been an important part of downtown planning. Large trees are a dominant element of the district's streets, encouraging use of sidewalk cafes and public spaces. A tree program was launched when Athens participated in the federal Model Cities program in the 1960s. Early plantings included Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana 'Bradford'); ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), the "city tree"; Darlington oak (Quercus hemisphaerica); honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos); and zelkova (Zelkova serrata). Civic groups sponsored additional street tree plantings.