Evaluation of students’ perception of urban green areas in Fortaleza city, Ceará state, Brazil

Abstract

This study evaluated the perception of undergraduate students from the Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC) at the Pici Campus with respect to urban afforestation in the city of Fortaleza in comparison with afforestation on the university campus (UFC) in terms of benefits and disadvantages that urban trees provide. We applied a questionnaire to 274 students. The analyses are based on the variables of gender, age, college course and neighborhood of residence. The results show that the perception of the level of afforestation in the city of Fortaleza as a whole and in the neighborhood of residence is considered regular; however, the level of afforestation at the Pici campus is considered good to very good. We applied statistical tests (chi-square) to the data and observed some significant findings linking the college course and students’ perception of afforestation.