taylor young arch 390 assign 4_research project

Taylor Young

Campus Green Space StudyArch 390_Assignment 4_Research Study

Introduction

Several Articles published by Science Daily and HortTechnology suggest that there is a relationship between green space use and a student’s perceived quality of life. These articles were also publishing the findings of a study that was done at a Texas University to see if there was such a correlation. The study was conducted via email survey, and undergraduate students were asked to respond to several questions relating to their usage of campus green space and how happy they were in their life. “The overall results from this study indicated that, in general, students who used the campus green spaces more frequently perceived their quality of life as higher when compared with those students who used green spaces less frequently. Additionally, undergraduate student use of campus green spaces was correlated with the individual areas of overall quality of life, the affective domain of quality of life of university students, and, specifically, the total positive affective dimension and the interaction with students dimension. These results suggested campus green spaces and their availability could potentially be a contributing factor in student retention, particularly among students new to the university (i.e., freshmen)” (McFarland, Waliczek, Zajicek).

My research is based on this study and the information presented in these articles, although I wanted to push it beyond what students perceive, and look more at the data to see if the same relationship was evident. For my research project I chose to investigate the relationship between acreage of campus green space and freshman retention rate at 6 UW System schools.

From reading these articles, that focused on green space users, it seems to me in order to get students to use green space on campus there first has to be some, and that’s why I chose the green space acreage as one of my variables. Quality of life in my research is represented by freshman retention rate, because so much of a student’s life is focused around the campus atmosphere, and if they don’t like that atmosphere, especially an undergrad-uate freshman, they are less likely to stay and or graduate from that university.

Process

Universities:I chose UW Schools because I wanted to see how this applied to schools close to home and that I was more familiar with. I chose the 6 UW Schools with the highest enrollment, these schools also are all located within a city that all have a density of a least 2,000 people/square mile.

•UW Eau Claire•UW LaCrosse••UW Madison•UW Milwaukee••UW Oshkosh•UW Whitewater•

Data:I found numerical data and statistics about the university and city from various sources on the internet and organized it in a spreadsheet. The campus acreage data is not something readily found on the internet, so I imple-mented my own strategy to find acreage of green space and recreational space. I used a scaled Google map of the campus and placed a grid over it, and then began filling in the squares according to what was on the map. I also included a 5 minute walking radius and filled in any public green space that was near campus, as I think the surroundings and what is directly accessible off campus plays a role as well. All the colored squares were then counted and translated into percentages, which then could be converted into acreage. This method is obviously not precise, but it gives a close representation as to what the make-up of the campus is like.

5 Minute Walking Radius

Campus Outline

Public Green Space: Parks, Trails, nature

preserves, plazas

Campus Recreational

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students

Campus Green Space: Parks, nature

preserves, plazas, landscaping, green

streets, lawns, forests

Campus Non-Green Space

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Campus Acreage EnrollmentUndergraduateGraduate

Freshman Retention Rate4 Year Graduation Rate6 Year Graduation Rate

LocationCity SquareMilesCity PopulationDensity

337

11,23310,578

655

83.2%23%64%

Eau Claire, WI32

66,6232,056 people/sq. mi.

University of Wisconsin LaCrosse

120 Acres

45 Acres





120

10,0749,119

955

86%33%69%

LaCrosse, WI22

51,7192,330 people/sq. mi.

University of Wisconsin Madison


936 Acres32 Acres

res




936

42,44130,36712,074

94.2%53%83%

Madison, WI85

236,9012,797 people/sq. mi.

University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

73 Acres





73

29,72624,639

5,087

71.5%14%40%

Milwaukee, WI97

597,8676,164 people/sq. mi.

University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

166 Acres

28 Acres





166

13,46112,232

1,229

75.8%14%50%

Oshkosh, WI27

66,3442,493 people/sq. mi.

University of Wisconsin Whitewater

400 Acres

134 Acres





400

11,62910,214

1,415

77.5%26%56%

Whitewater, WI7.3

14,7692,023 people/sq. mi.

Eau Claire83%

LaCrosse86%

Milwaukee71.5%

Oshkosh75.8%

Whitewater77.5%

50%Green Space

UniversityFreshman Retention

Rate

Madison94.2%

Campus Rec SpaceCampus Green Space Results by Percentage

Eau Claire

83%LaC

rosse86%

Madison94.2%

Milw

aukee71.5%

Oshkosh75.8%

Whitew

ater77.5%

100 Acres

University

Freshman

Retention

Rate

200 Acres

300 Acres

400 Acres

500 Acres

Public Green SpaceCampus Rec SpaceCampus Green Space Results by Acreage

Conclusion

Although the article in which this study was based on suggests that there may be a relationship between the amount of green space a campus has available and its retention rate my findings state that there is not a definite direct relationship between the 2 variables by either percentage of campus green space or just by the amount of green acre-age.

When comparing acreage with retention rate there is some-what of a relationship that can be seen, as the bars do create a downward slope overall, but it is not a true direct relationship because 2 of the 6 bars are not in sync with the downward slope of the bar graph. So overall this set of results could

suggest that there is a direct relationship between the 2 variables, meaning the more green acreage there is available the higher a retention rate a university will have, but further investigation with more univer-sities should be done to see if those 2 inconsistent bars really are just outliers of the trend, or if there is in fact no trend at all.

I also think it would be interest-ing to see how these schools stack up against the other US System schools, several of which are in rural or suburban areas, and not in the setting of a city like these 6 are. Given more time I would have liked to explore this.

Sources

Articles:American Society for Horticultural Science (2008, September 30). Campus Green Spaces Enhance Quality Of Life. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://www.sciencedai-ly.com /releases/2008/09/080929104611.htm

Websites:Google MapsU.S. NewsUniversity of Wisconsin Eau ClaireUniversity of Wisconsin LaCrosseUniversity of Wisconsin MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin MilwaukeeUniversity of Wisconsin OshkoshUniversity of Wisconsin Whitewater

taylor young arch 390 assign 4_research project

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