Fostering incidental experiences of nature through green infrastructure planning

Thomas H. Beery*, Christopher M. Raymond, Marketta Kyttä, Anton Stahl Olafsson, Tobias Plieninger, Mattias Sandberg, Marie Stenseke, Maria Tengö, K. Ingemar Jönsson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

58 Citations (Scopus)
251 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Concern for a diminished human experience of nature and subsequent decreased human well-being is addressed via a consideration of green infrastructure’s potential to facilitate unplanned or incidental nature experience. Incidental nature experience is conceptualized and illustrated in order to consider this seldom addressed aspect of human interaction with nature in green infrastructure planning. Special attention has been paid to the ability of incidental nature experience to redirect attention from a primary activity toward an unplanned focus (in this case, nature phenomena). The value of such experience for human well-being is considered. The role of green infrastructure to provide the opportunity for incidental nature experience may serve as a nudge or guide toward meaningful interaction. These ideas are explored using examples of green infrastructure design in two Nordic municipalities: Kristianstad, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark. The outcome of the case study analysis coupled with the review of literature is a set of sample recommendations for how green infrastructure can be designed to support a range of incidental nature experiences with the potential to support human well-being.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)717-730
Number of pages14
JournalAmbio
Volume46
Issue number7
Early online date25 Apr 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2017
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • Extinction of experience
  • Human well-being
  • Incidental nature experience
  • Intentional nature experience
  • Nudging
  • Redirection of attention

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