Evaluation of the Students’ Perception about Landscape Sustainability at Istanbul Technical University

Abstract

Using a large amount of land, energy, and material, universities have a major effect on sustainability in particular environmental sustainability. Over the last decade, a large number of green projects have been performed in the campus of leading universities. The matter is that sustainability of the campuses cannot be achieved without considering the student’s dimension including their perception, preferences, evaluation, and participation. The aim of this work is to analyze the relationship between the students’ perception and the efficiency of sustainability programs especially sustainable landscaping on the university campuses. This work surveys the ITU’s students’ attitudes and perspectives about what has been operated as the sustainable landscape on the green open lands and also their preferences of the campus landscape considering what they know about sustainability concept. To perform the research, 100 students of ITU were asked to complete a questionnaire including various parts covering the subject. This research strongly suggests that universities should provide the students with the practical programs and opportunities for cooperation on the campus so that they can participate in the programs aiming for sustainability improvement.