Influence of the socio-spatial context on the perception of environmental problems in cities in Spain and Argentina

Abstract

Frequently, the relationship between humans and the rest of the biosphere led to environmental problems. The social perception of these problems, their impacts and their spatial scale (local or global) is a necessary line of research for the well-being of society and environmental conservation. To analyse social perception, a survey was carried out in capital and non-capital cities in Argentina and Spain. This study proposes novel attitudes (forms of perception) that have not been studied so far. These are: blind (no perception of the problem), myopic (local perception) and emmetropic (local and global perception), together with the previously studied hyperopic attitude (global perception). Results showed the perception of specific problems related to pollution, deforestation, global change, and discharges, among others. There was a predominantly emmetropic perception, highlighting a hyperopic attitude towards deforestation, with no perception of some problems. In Argentina, as in capital cities (densely populated areas), myopic attitudes predominated, with fewer problems perceived than in Spain or in non-capital cities (areas with lower population density), where emmetropic and hyperopic attitudes predominated. The results did not show similar attitudes between the two countries studied, and spatial proximity did not influence environmental perception. Less densely populated areas showed greater specific concern about agricultural and pollution problems, while more densely populated areas perceived general problems such as global change. Future studies on environmental perception, which delve deeper into the society-biosphere relationship, are essential to develop environmental awareness policies aimed at effectively mitigating the impacts of environmental problems.