Socio-demographic and physical factors influencing access to urban parks in rapidly urbanizing cities of Ethiopia: The case of Addis Ababa

Abstract

Many studies in developed countries examined the effect of proximity, socio-demographic and individual psychometric factors on urban parks (UPs) access. However, in rapidly urbanizing cities of Africa, access to UPs remains problematic, and yet comparatively little is studied about how these factors may affect park access. This paper investigates the effect of socio-demographic and physical factors on the UPs access and utilization in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The study employed structured questionnaire to collect data from 189 sample park visitors. Besides, descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation, chi-square test and multivariate regression were used to analyze the association between variables. The result indicated age, monthly income, occupation, awareness about the parks, distance, traveled time to park, and mode of transport have significant (p < 0.05) association with frequency of park visit. Time limitation and lack of different programs in the parks were also identified as the main constraints that affect park utilization. We concluded that socio-demographic factors such as age, income, occupation, awareness about the parks, physical and some personal constraints as well as lack of diversified programs were the major factors that influence park access and utilization in the study area. Management ImplicationsThis study provides a quantitative analysis of the pattern of UPs use by the city residents, and highlights factors affecting the park access and utilization. Thus, our results imply the following management measures for better future of UPs access and utilization in Addis Ababa:•Provision of accessible and well-maintained parks, especially pocket parks in the neighborhoods is crucial.•Diversification of park programs and consideration of the need and preference of different socio-demographic characteristic during the planning and design of UPs are also important.•Good public transportation system and enough parking lots in the park could attract more park users from distant part of the city.•Awareness creation about the benefits and location of UPs is also very crucial to enhance park utilization.