ATTITUDES OF CITIZENS TOWARDS COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF URBAN GREEN SPACES: A FAISALABAD CASE STUDY

Urban green spaces (UGS) support urban sustainability and improve the overall life quality of urbanities. However, increasing population shift in urban areas can drive the transformation of UGS into residential areas. The present study was conducted in the four towns of Faisalabad city, Pakistan, to analyze the role of local government and community in the development and maintenance of green spaces; causes for the failure of sustainable urbanization projects in the city, and needs, dimensions of inhabitant's attitudes toward UGS to provide valuable information concerning future planning of urban sustainability. A questionnaire and field survey of the total 330 respondents from the four towns of city was conducted to evaluate their views regarding current situation of UGS and community involvement with local government for the rehabilitation of UGS. The results showed maximum frequency on daily basis visits (92.3%) by respondents. Among them (68.7%) were agreed regarding presence of UGS depicted that 80.3% were showed not satisfied (disagree) while 19.7% of the respondents showed satisfaction (agree). Present results revealed that 80% respondents were unaware of any development done with the participation of the community whereas only 20% were aware about it. Among 85.3% unsatisfied respondents about UGS, 20.7% revealed "daily maintenance problems" for the worst condition of UGS. For sustainable development of public parks and green spaces it is worth to consider the liking and disliking of local people during the planning process.