Green Gardening Practices Among Urban Botanists: Using the Value-Belief-Norm Model

Abstract

Recently, the increase in urbanization has momentously intensified the climate issues in urban centres. A large number of the population is vulnerable to climate change living in urban areas all over the world. The decline in agricultural activities leads to food insecurity in urban areas. Urban gardening is promoted as a viable option to achieve food security and help reduce the climate impact in urban areas. Urban gardening can help reduce the carbon footprint, curtail food production’s time and distribution costs, and offer food security and safety. Urban agriculture can be categorized as sustainable as it has economic, social, and climate impacts. The value-belief-norm framework is utilized to evaluate green gardening intentions and practices. The online survey collected cross-sectional data from 1,721 urban respondents in Malaysia. Based on the data analysis performed with structural equation modelling partial least square regression (SEM-PLS), it was found that the biospheric, egoistic, and altruistic values significantly influenced the new environmental paradigm. The environmental paradigm, awareness of consequences, and ascription of responsibility have significant positive effects on personal norms to engage in green gardening. The green trust and personal norms promote green gardening intention, subsequently leading to green gardening practices. A community-level effort is required to mitigate the climate change issue caused by urbanization and address food availability problems. Civic administration and residents should work together to protect the green spaces in urban centres, which promotes public well-being.