Beyond green-planning political orientations: Contrasted public policies and their relevance to nature perceptions in two European capitals

In the international agenda of conserving biodiversity and urban green planning, we explored how biodiversity-friendly political orientations in two European metropolises (Paris-France and Berlin-Germany) were translated in public urban park management. To do so, we used a mixed methods research strategy: we analyzed both cities' strategies for biodiversity and landscape, conducted semi-structured interviews with park managers, surveyed park design and management, and administered questionnaire to specific city dwellers. We showed that the biodiversity strategies in both cities similarly aim at increasing urban biodiversity and city dwellers' awareness; however, they are highly contrasted in their implementation, with Paris having a high level of control and top-down processes compared to Berlin. Accordingly, nature perceptions of city-dwellers differed between both capitals only in their willingness for nature-control (which was more present in Paris than in Berlin). With this example, we discuss how integrative environmental planning can encourage specific implementations of a global strategy. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.