Exploring the relationships between green spaces in high-density communities and along the Licun River in Qingdao, China: A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University

Abstract

As urbanization accelerates, high-density urban forms are becoming increasingly prevalent. This limits people's access to green spaces and heightens their reliance on community green spaces and surrounding natural areas. However, people’s preferences between green spaces (vegetated areas) and blue-green spaces (integrated water bodies and surrounding vegetated areas) in high-density cities are still unclear. In the post-COVID-19 era, residents’ reliance on nearby green and blue–green spaces is likely to increase, underscoring the growing importance of these environments. However, current research on green space mainly focuses on quantity rather than quality. Research on the quality of green space has often relied on objective indicators or limited subjective indicators. Although a range of approaches to assessing subjective quality exists, there is no single system of assessment. Therefore, this study aims to enhance our understanding of how people perceive and conceive of local green spaces and nearby blue-green spaces in Qingdao, China, in accommodating their preferences and usage requirements, particularly for those residing in high-density communities, since the COVID-19 pandemic. This study adopted an interpretivist paradigm and employed research strategies of abductive logic and inductive logic through a qualitative methodology to explore people's perceptions, preferences and behaviour in green and blue-green spaces. This study analysed the observable qualities of current spatial patterns of community and riverside green spaces through morphological analysis. Based on ethnomethodology, this study conducted interviews to explore people's self-reported motivations, daily routines, and preferences. Thematic analysis was used to construct a subjective landscape quality assessment system that reflects these aspects of people's experiences. Based on Henri Lefebvre's theory of the production of space, this study further explored, from the residents' perspective, how they perceived green and blue-green spaces, how they engaged in their daily activities within them, and how they conceptualized the spaces they needed. By analysing the results, this study revealed the spatial patterns and observable qualities of community and riverside green spaces, as well as people's motivations for visiting, daily activities, and preferences in these spaces in Qingdao, China. This study developed a subjective assessment of landscape quality based on identified elements that reflect people's preferences and environmental choices. Building on this, the study introduced a new concept: Positive Green Space to explore the positive impacts of how people construct social meaning in high-density communities and riverside green space on the motivations, choices and attachment of residents to their neighbourhoods. Positive Green Space encompasses three approaches: emotional connection, place memory and spatial manoeuvring. These three dimensions are dynamic due to variations in both objective and subjective landscape quality. It is also a proactive response by residents to the local environment, considering the unequal distribution and quality of green space. By proposing three approaches to Positive Green Space and developing a subjective assessment of landscape quality, this study offers new insights into how residents construct social meaning in green and blue-green spaces within high-density cities. It provides an empirical and methodological contribution to understanding how people assign meaning through local practices to green and blue-green spaces in urban environments.