Crisis mediated new discoveries, claims and encounters: Changing use and perception of residential greenery in multistory housing in Berlin, Germany

Abstract

With the stay at home orders during the pandemic, the often semi-public green spaces of the residential environment, usually created during the building of the houses, became our literal spheres of experience. In our study, we explored use and perceptions of local greenery by residents after sixteen months of the COVID-19 crisis, using face to face questionnaires in eight socially disadvantaged neighborhoods of Berlin, all exposed to high loads of environmental stressors and belonging to four relevant building types of Central European cities. Residential greenery was highly appreciated by residents during COVID-19, and fostered a more active appropriation such as meeting neighbors to reduce the sense of loneliness, doing sports and co-creating refugia in challenging times (e.g. greened balconies). Having children or doing home office/schooling encouraged people to use the green in front of the door in more active ways, such as gardening or even during winter. A minor proportion of respondents reduced contacts mainly due to fear of infections, underlining the need to overcome those distances and to re-connect neighbors and living inside and outside the houses in a post-pandemic city. Our data prove the functionality of residential greenery as ‘social tissue’ or ‘social hubs’ of neighborhoods by fostering attachment to place and people and, at the same time, as healthy environment for practices such as enjoying nature and physical activity in fresh air.