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Aesthetic and Spiritual Ecosystem Services Provided by Urban Sacred Sites

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  • Peter De Lacy

    (Department of Environmental Science, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa)

  • Charlie Shackleton

    (Department of Environmental Science, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa)

Abstract

The range and use of ecosystem services provided by urban sacred sites has hardly been considered in studies of urban ecology, sustainability and human wellbeing. This paper examines the perceived ecosystem services supplied by green spaces or gardens associated with places of religious worship and appreciated by worshippers in a mid-sized town in South Africa. A questionnaire with open, closed and Likert scale questions was administered at 30 places of worship (25 with gardens and five without). Respondents identified a wide diversity of ecosystem services provided by gardens, with social ones being more recognized than ecological, and economic services the least. Approximately two-thirds of respondents visited a sacred site garden weekly or more often. The majority of respondents (96%) felt that a garden was necessary because it added to their feelings of connection with God, or helped them relax and so be better able to concentrate, and 54% stated that a garden enhanced their overall spiritual experience. Regression analysis revealed that aesthetic appreciation of a garden was significantly related to woody plant species richness, number and basal area in the garden. On the other hand, spiritual experience was positively related to woody plant basal area, but not species richness nor tree number. Neither size of the garden, nor number of years the respondents had been vising a particular sacred site had any influence on the rated spiritual or aesthetic experiences. These results reveal the widely appreciated ecosystem services provided by urban sacred spaces and their centrality in enhancing spiritual satisfaction for some.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter De Lacy & Charlie Shackleton, 2017. "Aesthetic and Spiritual Ecosystem Services Provided by Urban Sacred Sites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-14, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:9:p:1628-:d:111799
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. van den Berg, Agnes E. & Maas, Jolanda & Verheij, Robert A. & Groenewegen, Peter P., 2010. "Green space as a buffer between stressful life events and health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(8), pages 1203-1210, April.
    2. Kiran Keswani, 2017. "The practice of tree worship and the territorial production of urban space in the Indian neighbourhood," Journal of Urban Design, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(3), pages 370-387, May.
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    4. Stephen Mufutau Awoyemi & Amy Gambrill & Alison Ormsby & Dhaval Vyas, 2012. "Global Efforts to Bridge Religion and Conservation: Are They Really Working?," Chapters, in: Tony Povilitis (ed.), Topics in Conservation Biology, IntechOpen.
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    3. Tanja M. Straka & Maren Mischo & Konstantin J. S. Petrick & Ingo Kowarik, 2022. "Urban Cemeteries as Shared Habitats for People and Nature: Reasons for Visit, Comforting Experiences of Nature, and Preferences for Cultural and Natural Features," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-21, August.
    4. Constant, Natasha Louise & Taylor, Peter John, 2020. "Restoring the forest revives our culture: Ecosystem services and values for ecological restoration across the rural-urban nexus in South Africa," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    5. Nanamhla Gwedla & Susanna Francina A. Cornelius & Marié J. Du Toit & Sarel S. Cilliers, 2022. "Stakeholder Perceptions of the Ecosystem Services of Health Clinic Gardens in Settlements and Small- to Medium-Sized Cities in the North-West Province, South Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-20, October.
    6. Andrzej Długoński & Diana Dushkova & Dagmar Haase, 2022. "Urban Cemeteries—Places of Multiple Diversity and Challenges. A Case Study from Łódź (Poland) and Leipzig (Germany)," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-22, May.
    7. Louis Gerhardus Lategan & Zene Steynberg & Elizelle Juanee Cilliers & Sarel Stephanus Cilliers, 2022. "Economic Valuation of Urban Green Spaces across a Socioeconomic Gradient: A South African Case Study," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-23, March.
    8. Yunchen Xu & Ruochen Ma & Katsunori Furuya, 2025. "Reimagining Urban Cemeteries: Behavioral Patterns, Perceptions, and Intentions in Tokyo’s Public Burial Landscapes," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-27, August.
    9. Po-Ching Wang & Chi-Ying Yu, 2018. "Aesthetic Experience as an Essential Factor to Trigger Positive Environmental Consciousness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, April.
    10. Fiona Nevzati & Mart Külvik & Joanna Storie & Liisa-Maria Tiidu & Simon Bell, 2023. "Assessment of Cultural Ecosystem Services and Well-Being: Testing a Method for Evaluating Natural Environment and Contact Types in the Harku Municipality, Estonia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-24, June.
    11. Grzyb, Tomasz, 2024. "Mapping cultural ecosystem services of the urban riverscapes: the case of the Vistula River in Warsaw, Poland," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

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