how people affect the environment,” the assistant professor said, “but do landscapes affect the people?
” Yabiku’s theory seems common sense: Grass and shade draw people outside to play and work, which leads to more social interactions. But he’s relying on more than intuition. ASU has converted the front yards of 24 graduate students’ homes on the Polytechnic Campus in Mesa to test the theory. The landscapes range from grass and shade trees to native plants with no watering. Some yards mix the two. Researchers started in 2004, and they interview the residents every other year about their behavior. The study is part of a larger grant funded by the National Science Foundation that runs through 2010 and looks at how urban areas function. The results could influence homeowners’ and home developers’ choices of landscapes or city planners’ design of parks and setting of landscape regulations. Arizona is known for its desert and gravel front yards and walled-in backyards. Although some people like the ease of maintenance and clean look, others see the landscape as sterile and impersonal. Lush l
