A research group including Assistant Professor Tsuzuki Yoichi of the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Tokyo, Special Researcher Osaki Haruna of the Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science at Tokyo Metropolitan University, Special Researcher Kawaguchi Yawako of the National Institute of Genetics, and Assistant Professor Katsuhara Mitsuki of the Faculty of Environmental, Life and Natural Sciences, Graduate School of Science at Okayama University, has found that there has recently been a trend toward emphasizing diversification and values rooted in the local area when it comes to the "city flowers" designated by local governments.
According to the University of Tokyo, the research group collected and analyzed data on the designation of city (ward) flowers from the websites of 792 cities across the country and Tokyo's 23 special wards, with the aim of evaluating local governments' awareness of nature based on trends in the designation of city flowers.
As a result, they found that there were two peaks in the number of enacted laws, beginning around 1993. Further analysis of the contents revealed that there was a marked increase in diversity after 2, and that there was a strong tendency to emphasize values rooted in the region, such as local specialty products and endemic species.
When locally rooted values are divided into intrinsic value, which refers to the value that nature inherently possesses regardless of humans, instrumental value, which indicates usefulness to humans, and relational value, which indicates contribution to social identity and solidarity, instrumental value increased significantly and intrinsic value also showed a slight upward trend.
The research group believes that as a result of local governments placing emphasis on values rooted in the local area and designating their city flowers, flowers that are unlikely to be chosen in other municipalities are often designated, leading to diversification, and that this is a reflection of a change in local governments' attitudes toward nature.
Paper information:【Ecological Research】Nationwide diversity of “city flower” is increasing
