Challenges of Urban Home Gardens: Perspectives on Vertical Living Walls as an Alternative in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Due to significant urbanization, Colombo is vulnerable to rising temperatures due to the lack of green spaces, development of construction and other explicit problems. The concept of home gardens could be a solution for a sustainable livelihood. A research survey has been conducted to study and identify the garden experiences among residents of 13 Colombo District Secretariats. The "Statistical Package for the Social Sciences" (SPSS) program 17.0 and Microsoft Excel are used to analyze the data and 100 responses were selected. 85% of participants occupy a garden space, however, results show a high percentage of unavailability of garden space and above-ground garden spaces around Colombo city. 70% of the participants are familiar with LWs but their perception is low due to the Cost, and maintenance. Nevertheless, 52% of the individuals agreed with the fact that LWs can be implemented in affordable ways which are easy to install, use or maintain.

© 2022 The Authors. Published by Department of Estate Management and Valuation, University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Keywords: Colombo DS; Living walls; perception; Urban Gardening; User Survey