Supply and Demand Concerning Urban Green Spaces for Recreation by Elderlies Living in Care Facilities: The Role of Accessibility in an Explorative Case Study in Austria

Martina Artmann,Lukas Goetzlich,Angela Hof,Christian Mueller

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2019.00136

Abstract

Urban green spaces (UGS) are crucial providers of cultural ecosystem services such as recreation. So that urban residents can benefit from UGS recreation, there is a need for good access to these, in particular for elderlies with reduced mobility. Recent research on accessibility has often neglected to consider real distances to green spaces and emerging barriers as well as the demand by specific user groups for UGS accessibility. In the light of demographic ageing and ongoing urbanization, this study investigates in an explorative case study the potential and actual access to UGS for elderlies living in care facilities in Salzburg (Austria). By connecting a GIS network-analysis with a survey among elderlies of four care facilities, the results give insights into the supply and demand concerning UGS accessibility. The supply analysis showed that the majority of UGS are situated between 500-1,000m. Due to barriers identified by the elderlies hindering the pathways to the UGS, time losses occur and the security of the old-aged is under risk. The demand side showed that despite the supply of UGS within 1,000m, elderlies mostly visit UGS outside the service area. More research is needed to include elderlies´ supply and demand regarding UGS qualities when analyzing UGS accessibility by considering greater sample sizes.

Highlights

Urban green spaces (UGS) such as parks, urban agriculture, community gardens or urban forests (Breuste et al, 2013) are major contributors of ecosystem services, in particular for recreational activities (Maes et al, 2012)
Based on an explorative empirical research in Salzburg (Austria), this study sheds light on the potential and actual accessibility to UGS for elderlies living in care facilities
Despite the small sample size, by combining a network analysis with a survey, the study can draw some conclusions regarding the role of accessibility to UGS in terms of green space management and methodological implications

Summary

Introduction

Urban green spaces (UGS) such as parks, urban agriculture, community gardens or urban forests (Breuste et al, 2013) are major contributors of ecosystem services, in particular for recreational activities (Maes et al, 2012). UGS need to be accessible so that residents can profit from recreation in these spaces (Paracchini et al, 2014; Peña et al, 2015; Grunewald et al, 2017). Urban Green Space Accessibility for Seniors policy recognized the need for UGS access. One subtarget of the eleventh goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recommends the provisioning of secure and accessible UGS, in particular for vulnerable population groups such as elderly and children (United Nations, 2015)

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Conclusion