Exploring the Perception of Inhabitants about Quality of Wetlands as a Potential for Public Green Spaces

This paper aims to explore the opinions of inhabitants of Kigali city about the quality of the wetlands as a potential public green space. Despite the Ramsar treaty, wetlands in many countries still face challenges regarding function, character, and quality. Kigali as the capital of Rwanda located in a tropical climate, includes wetlands that pass through the whole city. However, the quality of the wetlands has resulted in the segregation of the wetlands from the urban context. The Likert questionnaire was designed to evaluate the perceptions, concerns, and expectations of the inhabitants about wetlands. The findings highlight that the inhabitants face problems with accessibility, using the spaces for attendance, and safety in the wetlands. Although the respondents mentioned the wetlands are clean, safe, and beautiful, they are concerned about the safety, paths, paving, and landscape design of the wetlands. The respondents prefer to have fruit trees in the wetlands more than decorative and flowering trees, shrubs, or vegetation. In conclusion, they expect the wetlands as a daily activity location for sitting and chatting with family members rather than a location for recreational activities, including cultural centers, such as art galleries and museums.