The role of green areas for the well-being of university communityperceptions and possibilities for a more sustainable campus

Resumen

Green spaces play an important role in protecting human health by providing multiple benefits for physical and mental well-being. They also contribute to climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. Green spaces are therefore relevant for urban contexts where the quality of life can be compromised by several pressures, such as climate change or social issues. Moreover, in educational settings green spaces can facilitate opportunities for stress reduction and socialization, thus increasing the well-being of the university community, while supporting actions that enhance biodiversity and contribute to the provision of essential ecosystem services. In this regard, university campuses are ideal settings for interventions focused on green space studies and green design. They are very often integrated into the urban fabric, and they can provide multiple benefits, i.e. ecosystem services that are essential of our well-being, such as clean air, temperature control or teaching and learning opportunities. Understanding the advantages of including and ensuring equitable access to green spaces within university environments is crucial for informing design and planning efforts with a focus on sustainability. For this reason, this study was carried out at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) by means of an online anonymous survey released for all the university. The survey was divided in three parts and was released in Basque and Spanish: the first part related to respondent general information, the second part pertains to the green areas visited and the reasons behind these visits, and finally, the third part was designed to understand the perceived benefits that these green areas are thought to provide. Up to know, 342 answers have been gathered. Most of the answers come from the campus of Bizkaia, (70%) followed by those from Gipuzkoa (21%) and finally from Araba (9%). More than 50% of the respondents go to green areas in the campus because they are close and allow them to relax and unwind. Respondents usually spend around 15 minutes in the site. In general, more than 30% of the respondents gave the maximum value to most of the ecosystem services presented. The ecosystem services most recognized by the respondents are those related to regulation, such as habitat for biodiversity, temperature and flooding regulation. The least are those related to the benefits we can get in relation to education and knowledge. In conclusion, the study shows that the university campus should have green areas that help mainly to relax, unwind and feel better, but they need to be close to the sites where people are working or studying. Moreover, the respondents are aware of the benefits they get from the green areas for their well-being even if the cultural services are less considered than the regulatory ones.