Correlation: Time Spent at Site and Valuation

Charlestown Openspace Prioritization Project:
A Participatory Model Using the World Wide Web

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In Question 3 of the site-specific portions of the survey, respondents were asked whether they spend time at a given site. Respondents may already have access to a survey site, and may take walks there or visit it in some capacity. By asking this question, we can gauge how current access to sites affects valuation of potentially preserved openspace. The graph at the right shows that respondents value highly visited areas the most, followed by sites at which they rarely spend time.

If respondents reported a negative response, their answer was assigned a value of -1. If they reported positively, their answer received a value of 1. Cumulative responses were added to arrive at a score for the degree to which respondents report they visit sites. To normalize the different amounts of comment received for each survey site, scores were scaled.

Click on graph to enlarge

Interpreting the Graph

The black line shows scaled, weighted scores for all 23 survey sites. Beginning on the left with the most visited site, the black line declines as it represents sites that are progressively less visited. The colored lines show first degree polynomial trend lines for the three valuation questions that are asked for each site (Question 5, Question 6, and Question 8). The trendlines show that residents value sites that are most visited more than other sites. There is a decrease in valuation of sites that are moderately visited, followed by an increased valuation of sites at which few residents visit.

Conclusion

This finding is useful for openspace planning purposes for two reasons. First, it is an indicator that accessibility is important to residents. This concurs with site-specific findings that show respondents consistently favor using protected openspace as wildlife preserves with hiking paths, as opposed to uses that restrict access. Second, increased valuation of sites that are rarely visited suggests that residents do value private openspaces, in addition to highly accessible openspaces. For example, the least visited sites (for which the graph shows increased valuation) are privately owned farms, fields and horse farms. This suggests that while residents primarily favor openspace that is accessible, some private openspaces, like private farms, are considered valuable for protection.