Abstract
Social interaction among diverse ethnic groups motivates people within communities to visit urban parks towards achieving social cohesion. Malaysians of different ethnic backgrounds spend their leisure time in urban parks because it offers opportunities for social interaction. The perception and requirement of attributes needed varies among the various ethnic groups of Malays, Chinese and Indians in order to be assured of their full utilization of the parks. This study investigates the urban park attributes that encourage the utilization of urban park by these three ethnic groups toward achieving social cohesion. Using a survey questionnaire method a total of 274 respondents were sampled at Batu Pahat urban parks in Johor, Malaysia. Afterwards, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to analyse and validate respondents’ perception of urban park utilization. The findings show that aesthetics, safety, lighting, maintenance and cleanliness in public spaces attracted people to visit the urban park and contributed towards social cohesion.
Highlights
In urban centres, public spaces are considered as places with natural space for people to access and use (Balram & Dragicevic, 2005)
Public spaces play a crucial role in supporting social interactions between people in every society, providing social and psychological services to urban inhabitants thereby improving the quality of life
The measured factors of urban park utilization which includes activities, social interaction, attributes attraction and quality attributes aimed towards achieving social cohesion exhibited different path loadings
Summary
Public spaces are considered as places with natural space for people to access and use (Balram & Dragicevic, 2005) They play host to people from various social and economic backgrounds within a community enabling them to spend their leisure time and interact with one another. Public spaces play a crucial role in supporting social interactions between people in every society, providing social and psychological services to urban inhabitants thereby improving the quality of life. They promote multiculturalism among people of diverse social backgrounds.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
