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

Journal of Arboriculture, Nov 2004 by Wolf, Kathleen L

Local government has been committed to tree replacement and maintenance. Of the original plantings, Darlington oaks and ginkgo have done well; Bradford pears and zelkova present maintenance challenges. Infrastructure needs and concerns about maturing trees led to passage of a special tax to fund renovations. Government crews removed declining trees in 2000 and 2001, replacing them with 5 to 6.5 cm (2 to 3 in.) caliper trees. Citizens objected to the replacements' size, claiming reduced streetscape amenities and business loss. Larger trees have been used in subsequent plantings.

Survey Content

What are the preferences and perceptions of Athens business patrons regarding trees? A quantitative survey was developed based on prior studies of retail trees (Wolf 2003a, 2004) and landscape assessment (Kaplan and Kaplan 1989). The eight-page, pencil-and-paper instrument included a photo-preference section, two sections on retail behavior, and a section of respondent demographics, including respondent age, gender, home community type, household composition, household income, and shopping style.

A photographic image sample was collected in the Athens CBD to represent views typically seen by daytime visitors and shoppers. The color image collection numbered 109; 20 images were used in the survey. Scenes ranged from being devoid of vegetation, to containing mid-size street trees planted at equidistant intervals, to street trees forming a dense, overhead canopy. Image content known to confound viewer response, such as visually prominent people (Herzog 1989) or cloud formations, was avoided. Architectural features are fairly consistent in type and quality Buildings are one to three stories tall with storefronts adjacent to sidewalks.

The final page of the questionnaire contained an open-ended question: "Do you have any thoughts or comments about trees and plants in the Downtown Athens Business District? Please share them here."

Respondent Sampling and Surveying

Surveys were distributed using on-street, in-person contact. The sampling frame entailed random contact of CBD visitors by day of week, time of day (between 10:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M.), and location in the district. Contact sampling was based on pedestrian volume. A total of 24, 2-hour stratified random data collection sessions occurred during a 2-week period, and they were conducted by two-person teams of undergraduate students.

A total of 365 completed surveys were collected. Survey teams intercepted the designated sidewalk users, briefly introducing themselves and the study. Contacts were offered an incentive coupon for a free beverage at a local shop. Following completion (about 10 minutes), respondents were thanked for their participation and given an opportunity to request information about survey outcomes.

Respondent Characteristics

Respondent traits (Table 1) are consistent with Athens being a university town yet confirm that a diverse sample of district users was achieved. Forty-seven percent of respondents reported that they are University of Georgia students. This demographic is consistent with other variables: age (67% in their 20s or younger), time since first visit to district (52% within the past 5 years), community of current residence 155% in small city (Athens likely)], and annual household income (53% reporting US$25,000 or less).