Comparing perceptions of barriers to tree planting in domestic and public spaces of low-income neighbourhoods in small to medium-sized South African towns

Abstract

Neighbourhood greenness is one of the indicators for residential satisfaction in urban areas. However, residents in low-income urban communities often express dissatisfaction with their neighbourhoods because of limited urban green infrastructure (UGI) and trees in comparison to relatively affluent neighbourhoods. Low-income neighbourhoods in South Africa, known as low-cost housing areas (LCHAs) face a myriad of systemic and institutional dynamics that may exacerbate the limitations to successful greening. In this context, this study investigated household perceptions on barriers to new and continued urban tree planting in domestic and public spaces such as parks and streets in low-income neighbourhoods in eight South African towns. Questionnaires were administered to 800 households across 16 old (n = 400) and newer (n = 400) LCHAs. Inadequate space (58 %), insufficient funds (37 %), lack of equipment (35 %), tree damage (34 %), limited knowledge (25 %), and municipal restrictions (12 %) were the most frequently mentioned limitations to tree planting in domestic spaces. By contrast, residents identified municipal incompetence (55 %), inadequate space (40 %); insufficient funds (28 %), tree damage (27 %), risk of crime (21 %), and politics (20 %) as some of the factors hindering institutions from planting trees in public parks and along streets. Understanding these barriers is an important step towards the design of sustainable urban greening initiatives for low-income communities in Global South contexts.