Understanding Vandalism in Public Parks: The Role of Planting Design

Understanding Vandalism in Public Parks: The Role of Planting Design | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Understanding Vandalism in Public Parks: The Role of Planting Design Iman Saeedi, Nazanin Habibi This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7443241/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Urban parks play a crucial role in enhancing community well-being and providing ecological benefits, yet these greeneries can also be sites of vandalism. This study investigates the relationship between plant-related park features and observable forms of vandalism in urban parks, specifically focusing on fire-setting, tree breakage, wall paintings (tagging), and damage to public property. Two urban parks in Iran were selected as case studies. Eight variables related to planting design were analyzed, including tree height, planting patterns, perceived planting diversity, plant distance, the presence of flower beds, grass cover, maintenance levels, and canopy cover. Binary logistic regression was employed to identify significant predictors of vandalism and to construct models that explain the influence of the various design features on vandalism incidents. The results showed that locations with higher tree canopy cover experienced more vandalism behaviors mentioned. Damage to public property and tree vandalism were associated with areas of closer tree spacing. The presence of flower beds was linked to a reduction in fire setting incidents, while grassy planting beds correlated with an increased likelihood of arson. Additionally, row planting patterns contributed to higher spray-painting behaviors, whereas natural planting patterns were associated with less vandalism. Finally, spaces with lower maintenance levels exhibited more spray-painting signs. These findings highlight the complex role of vegetation and layout design in urban parks, where ecological and aesthetic benefits must be balanced against the potential for facilitating antisocial behavior. Antisocial behavior Park Management Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Safety Green Spaces Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7443241","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":509838173,"identity":"136e8359-6078-44e2-b8fb-3ee4c5cf64e8","order_by":0,"name":"Iman Saeedi","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA9ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBAC+QYQySYhx8DA3IAQTsCjhQ1CShgzMDCSpoUhsQFFCz7Axn/44YMPZRbpa9sPNn7mqbiX2MB++AHDwz14tEikGRvOOCeRu+1MYrM0z5nixAaeNAOGhGf4tDCYSfO2AbUcSGwAMhKALswB+uUAPocd//77b5tEutn5h82/ef8BtfC/IaCFIceMmbFNIsHsRmKbNG8DUIsEIVskcoole85JGG678bDNcs6xBOM2iWcGB/Bpke8/vvHDj7I6ebPzyYdvvKlJkO3nT3748AceLSiAiYcBElPEagDG/w+ilY6CUTAKRsFIAgDZMFI/KKOrAgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Malayer University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Iman","middleName":"","lastName":"Saeedi","suffix":""},{"id":509838174,"identity":"090e572d-8bee-49c9-b606-04cf8df7d4c7","order_by":1,"name":"Nazanin Habibi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Malayer University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nazanin","middleName":"","lastName":"Habibi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-23 21:08:12","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7443241/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7443241/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":90622079,"identity":"54d6f462-1dbd-452c-af48-b476adabdd07","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-04 20:54:56","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":952889,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"finalrevisedarticle.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7443241/v1_covered_76894daf-dd57-4620-9d7b-7a962cc4bdbf.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Understanding Vandalism in Public Parks: The Role of Planting Design","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Antisocial behavior, Park Management, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), Safety, Green Spaces","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7443241/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7443241/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eUrban parks play a crucial role in enhancing community well-being and providing ecological benefits, yet these greeneries can also be sites of vandalism. 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