The Functions of Urban Open Space in Terms of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Women’s Child Care

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the COVID-19 stress levels of women parenting young children, the characteristics and perceptions of urban open space use, and how the social and emotional functions of open spaces perform differently in a pandemic situation. A survey was conducted focusing on female users of an open space in Gyeongsan. For the analysis, frequency analysis, chi-square test, and t-test were performed on 247 people using IBM SPSS Statistics program. The study results are summarized as follows. First, women with young children visited the open space as a place for the children’s play and to relieve their parenting stress. However, they thought negatively about the space being crowded owing to concerns about infection. Second, women with young children were also aware of the importance of hand washing facilities for hygiene. Third, the children’s mothers had very high COVID-19 stress, and thought that a decent open space is an important criterion for housing choice in the future. Fourth, women with children evaluated the open space as a fun, enjoyable place and highly valued the existence of the place. Thus, the social and emotional function of the space was working more meaningfully.