Resident’s Perception towards Green Spaces Urban Areas of Mirpur AJK Pakistan, A Cross-Sectional Study

Urbanization with increasing proportion of the population living in cities limits access to nature and increases exposure to environmental hazards, such as air and noise pollution. Green spaces offer solutions by increasing the quality of urban settings, promoting sustainable lifestyles, and improving both the health and the well-being of urban residents. Aim of the study was to assess perceived advantages and disadvantages of urban green spaces (UGS). A cross sectional study, was conducted on the 200 residents of Mirpur district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Pakistan. There were 54.5% of males and 44.5% of females in the study sample and 79% (n=79) of them were of age between 31-40 years. 164 (82%) individuals in the collected sample fall into high educational level. For positive attributes of urban green spaces most visitors reported strongly agree response. The highest strongly agree response (62%) is for importance of parks. Promotion of elders’ and physical health also showed strongly agreed responses of 60% and 58% respectively. The agreed response was the highest for ‘neighbors’ meetup’ (43.5%) and for the rest it was mental health (40%), people likeness (37%) and property value (38.5%). Commercial encroachment was the highest strongly agreed response (30.5%) and time wastage was the highest strongly disagreed response (21.5%). Visitors reported strongly agree response to scenic beauty (67.5%), air quality (49%) and reduce heat wave (40.5%). Agreed responses were topped by environmental conditions (37%) followed by almost equal responses for rainfall source (25.5%), biodiversity and noise pollution (23%). Fast and unplanned urbanization is threatening UGS. Our study highlighted visitors’ perception about UGS which would help in their development and improved quality.