An Assessment of the Knowledge and Demand of Young Residents regarding the Ecological Services of Urban Green Spaces in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The fast and steady economic growth and social changes in recent years in Cambodia have brought rapid expansion and restructuring to its cities. These phenomena have brought numerous challenges including threats to urban green spaces (UGS's). This study addresses problems of UGS's by investigating the knowledge and perceptions of young residents of Phnom Penh (YRPPs) toward UGS's in relation to the following: (1) basic knowledge of YRPPs on ecological services (KES) of UGS's; (2) perceptions of YRPPs on the current state of UGS's (PUGS's) in Phnom Penh; (3) demand of YRPPs for UGS's in the city (DUGS); and (4) associations between KES, PUGS's, social profiles (SoPs), and DUGS. A questionnaire was designed to solicit knowledge from 554 respondents randomly selected from the study area. The findings revealed that 83.1% of total respondents strongly recognized ecological services of UGS's. Four subgroups of ecological services, namely microclimate (89.7%), environmental quality and functions (83.8%), recreational and public health services (88.5%), and economic benefits (70.4%) were all rated highly. Because the current state of UGS's was very poor (68.4%), demand for UGS's was high (94.43%). Public toilets (84.7%) and rubbish bins (75.6%) were both rated the poorest. The PUGS's were significantly associated with KES (r = 0.307, F (3, 543) = 18.83, p < 0.001). This study offers a deep understanding about knowledge and demand of YRPPs for UGS's.