Disparity in Perceptions of Social Values for Ecosystem Services of Urban Green Space: A Case Study in the East Lake Scenic Area, Wuhan

Urban green space can bring various ecosystem benefits to diverse social groups. Among those ecosystem benefits, intangible social values are often neglected but highly relevant to human welfare. Existing research on the social values of urban green space often focusses on the perspective of urban inhabitants rather than tourists, even though tourists are also major beneficiaries. By combining different data sources into a comprehensive source about green-space social values, we investigated the disparity between inhabitants' and tourists' perceptions about space-associated social values, and further explored the underlying environmental conditions in the East Lake scenic area, Wuhan. For this, we collected 347 questionnaires through an on-site survey and 11,908 photos uploaded by 2165 social media users (Sina Blog), and we used SolVES (Social Value for Ecosystem Services) to uncover the spatial patterns of social values and the relationships between social value indicators and natural surroundings. Social-value hotspots occurred near water and trails. Perceptions differed, however, between inhabitants and tourists. Inhabitants perceived a larger scale of social values and could benefit more from recreation and economic values. Tourists, on the other hand, showed greater appreciation for aesthetic and cultural values. Environmental features were associated with social values to differing extent; distance to water and land use/cover exerted significantly influence. These findings should be taken into consideration to improve urban spatial planning and to optimize green infrastructures for human welfare.