Urban green spaces play a key role in creating sustainable, healthy, and climate-resilient cities. They provide opportunities for recreation, support biodiversity, contribute to climate adaptation, and enhance the overall well-being. At the same time, decisions about their planning and management are often guided by professional and institutional priorities that may not fully align with how residents perceive and value these spaces in their everyday lives.

This project investigates the differences and similarities between public and expert perceptions of urban green spaces. Building on comparative empirical research conducted in Germany and the Republic of Korea, it seeks to better understand how residents, planners, and other governance actors evaluate the benefits and functions of urban nature. Particular attention is paid to the plural values of nature, as well as to questions of participation, legitimacy, and fairness in environmental governance.

The research draws on a dataset collected during a doctoral project, including questionnaire surveys conducted in Karlsruhe (Germany) and Suwon (Republic of Korea), as well as qualitative interviews with actors involved in green space planning and governance across several German and Korean cities. By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, the project examines how different social groups experience urban green spaces and how these perceptions intersect with planning priorities and governance practices.

A central objective is to identify potential gaps between societal expectations and expert perspectives, thereby exploring their implications for sustainability transformations in cities. Understanding these differences can help foster more inclusive, participatory, and socially robust approaches to urban green space governance.

The project is particularly relevant for Baden-Württemberg, where municipalities are increasingly investing in green infrastructure as part of their climate adaptation and sustainability strategies. By linking residents’ perspectives with planning and governance approaches, the research advances ongoing discussions about how to manage urban green spaces in environmentally effective, socially accepted, and locally responsive ways.

The project will also provide the basis for developing future comparative research on the role of societal values in sustainable urban development and environmental governance, contributing to both academic debate and policy-relevant knowledge for urban sustainability transitions. More broadly, it advances a research agenda that examines the interactions between societal values, environmental sustainability, and technological change in transformation processes.

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