Urban Public Parks Research Articles

Quality of public urban parks for physical activity practice in Bucaramanga, Colombia

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1980-0037.2017v19n4p480 The characteristics of parks (availability, accessibility, conservation, quality, safety, etc.) are important predictors of their use for physical activity practices. The aim of this study was to verify the association among the socioeconomic level of neighborhoods, the characteristics and quality of urban public parks for physical activity in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Cross-sectional study, conducted in 2015, in which 10 parks with structures for physical activity were evaluated. The socioeconomic level of the district was evaluated based on the neighborhoods around the parks and classified in “low” and “high”. The number of residents in the surrounding area of parks were evaluated with Geographic Information System (GIS), site characteristics and quality with the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) and the Physical Activity Resource Assessment (PARA), respectively. The association was analyzed with Mann Whitney U test and Spearman correlation (rho) on STATA 14 and the significance level was maintained at 5%. A positive association was found between the socioeconomic level and the presence of walking paths (marginal, p=0.056), accessibility (rho=0.875; p=0.001) and general quality of parks (rho=0.657; p=0.039). The low socioeconomic level was associated with the presence of sports courts (p=0.032). These results can guide the actions of public managers for the modification of the built environment and structures of the parks for physical activity.

Quality of public urban parks for physical activity practice in Bucaramanga, Colombia

The characteristics of parks (availability, accessibility, conservation, quality, safety, etc.) are important predictors of their use for physical activity practices. The aim of this study was to verify the association among the socioeconomic level of neighborhoods, the characteristics and quality of urban public parks for physical activity in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Cross-sectional study, conducted in 2015, in which 10 parks with structures for physical activity were evaluated. The socioeconomic level of the district was evaluated based on the neighborhoods around the parks and classified in “low” and “high”. The number of residents in the surrounding area of parks were evaluated with Geographic Information System (GIS), site characteristics and quality with the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) and the Physical Activity Resource Assessment (PARA), respectively. The association was analyzed with Mann Whitney U test and Spearman correlation (rho) on STATA 14 and the significance level was maintained at 5%. A positive association was found between the socioeconomic level and the presence of walking paths (marginal, p=0.056), accessibility (rho=0.875; p=0.001) and general quality of parks (rho=0.657; p=0.039). The low socioeconomic level was associated with the presence of sports courts (p=0.032). These results can guide the actions of public managers for the modification of the built environment and structures of the parks for physical activity.

Associations of multiple ecosystem services and disservices of urban park ecological infrastructure and the linkages with socioeconomic factors

Urban ecological infrastructures (UEIs; e.g., parks, beaches, rivers, forests, and woodlands) provide important ecosystem services (ESes) to urban ecosystems. Understanding the covariance of multiple ESes and disservices and their associations with social economic factors is a precondition of ecosystem management. Previous studies have mainly focused on ESes and tradeoffs among multiple ESes, whereas disservices and their associations with ESes have seldom been addressed. In this study, we took public urban parks, an important component of UEIs as well as the basic unit for management, as a case study and explored the ESes and disservices of different types of parks and the delivery of ESes to different social economic strata based on 187 plot inventory data. The results showed that the actual dominant ESes of four types of parks differed from both the expectations of planners and the demands of residents. Positive correlations existed among ESes and disservices (e.g. bio-emissions and air pollution reduction). Population density was positively related with several ESes; Distance to urban center was negatively associated with C storage, bio-emissions, and aggregative ES indicators; Wealthy areas had better performance in terms of C storage and aggregative ES indicators. Major challenges for the four types of parks and measures to coordinate ESes and disservices are discussed. Multiple stakeholder involvement, ES provision for low income populations, and the protection of parks in peri-urban and central urban areas are suggested.

Survey of ecological environmental conditions and influential factors for public parks in Shanghai

Urban public parks provide a recreational environment for residents, hence more and more citizens would spend time in parks, especially elderly and kids. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the quality of ecological environment inside parks. Therefore, this study conducted the first measurements in ten public parks of Shanghai to investigate heavy metals in air, soil and leaf, growth parameters of leaf, and ambient PM2.5 and black carbon (BC) concentrations. Results showed Al and Mg appeared the highest in air. Cr, Cu, Mn and Zn were dominating in soil. Ca and Mg were much greater in leaves. It was concluded geographical locations were major reasons to explain the level of heavy metals, which mainly came from vehicle emissions. A small portion was attributing to chemical industries nearby. PM2.5 concentrations ranged from 0.01 mg/m3 to 0.10 mg/m3, which met up level I and level II of air quality standard in China. BC concentrations ranged from 1000 ng/m3 to 6000 ng/m3. Via comparing the correlation between photosynthesis and PM2.5, as well as chlorophyll content and PM2.5, it was concluded that chlorophyll can be regarded as an indicator for assessing air quality, but not photosynthesis. Unexpectedly, a positive correlation was observed between the stomatal conductance and PM2.5 as well as BC, which might be attributed to plants resisting the ambient stress. The results of this study can be used for assessments of air quality and health exposure inside parks, and also could provide urban policy maker with scientific evidences for urban park planning.

Spatial Equity Measure on Urban Ecological Space Layout Based on Accessibility of Socially Vulnerable Groups—A Case Study of Changting, China

The improper layout of urban public parks leads to the difference between citizens sharing or not sharing this kind of public resource, particularly in the historical districts of mountainous cities in China. The purpose of this study is to explore the spatial equity and quantitative measures of urban public parks’ layouts by building a demand index of socially vulnerable groups sharing public parks based on the accessibility evaluation model. In this paper, Changting—a famous national historical and cultural city—is taken as the empirical object, then the accessibility and social equity of public parks is quantitatively measured with the aid of the field investigation method, the spatial analysis model of geographic information system (GIS) and the SPSS statistical analysis method. The results indicate that it is feasible to measure the spatial equity of urban public parks with the accessibility and demand index of socially vulnerable groups, and it can effectively characterize the rationality and social equity of urban ecological space. It shows that a degree of spatial mismatch exists between the distribution of urban public parks and that of residents, that is to say the spatial distribution of public parks is not equitable in terms of accessibility or residents’ demands. Therefore, the data suggest that the spatial patterns and accessibility levels of parks in Changting County—especially the historical districts—should be further improved and perfected to achieve high levels of accessibility and equity through urban green space system planning. The paper may be used as a scientific reference for the planning and construction of ecological urban spaces. It can also provide useful decision-making guidance for urban planners in investigating, analyzing, and adjusting the distribution of public service facilities to achieve equitable outcomes, while promoting the harmonious and sustainable development of mountainous cities.

Homelessness, nature, and health: toward a feminist political ecology of masculinities

Engaging with feminist political ecology and leveraging experiences from a 16-month critical ethnography, this research explores ways in which masculinities served as both a rationale and an outcome of men facing homelessness living in the margins of an urban municipal public park – a space known as ‘the Hillside.’ Ethnographic narratives point to Hillside residents making their home in nature, connecting experiences in nature with various masculinities, and the gendered eschewing of social services. These portrayals further highlight the perceived feminization of social services within a context of rapidly neoliberalizing urban environments, and illustrate the ways participants positioned and engaged with social services. Entanglements of health and nonhuman nature prompt a feminist political ecological engagement with masculinity. Experiences from the Hillside add textured richness to discourses concerning the ways in which contemporary landscapes are constructed, perceived, experienced, and co-constituted through and with gender.

Assessing Lead, Nickel, and Zinc Pollution in Topsoil from a Historic Shooting Range Rehabilitated into a Public Urban Park.

Soil contamination is a persistent problem in the world. The redevelopment of a site with a historical deposition of metals might conceal the threat of remaining pollution, especially when the site has become a public place. In this study, human health risk assessment is performed after defining the concentrations of Pb, Ni, and Zn in the topsoil of a former shooting range rehabilitated into a public park in the Municipality of Kesariani (Athens, Greece). A methodology that uses inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS, 13 samples), another that uses portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) following a dense sample design (91 samples), and a hybrid approach that combines both, were used to obtain the concentrations of the trace elements. The enrichment factor and geoacummulation index were calculated to define the degree of pollution of the site. The hazard quotient and cancer risk indicators were also computed to find the risk to which the population is exposed. The present study reveals high non-carcinogenic health risk due to Pb pollution with ingestion as the main exposure pathway. The carcinogenic risk for Pb is within tolerable limits, but the definition of land use might alter such a statement. Lastly, regarding Ni and Zn, the site is unpolluted and there is insignificant carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks.

The Crisis in Conservation: Istanbul's Gezi Park between Restoration and Resistance

Among the urban revolts that arose in 2010–13, the Gezi Park protests in Turkey present a particular challenge to architectural history and conservation.1 In the case of the Turkish protests, the central issues were control over a symbolically important public urban space, Gezi Park in Istanbul's Taksim Square, and the power to shape architectural heritage and public memory. Two visions of architectural heritage clashed in Taksim: on one hand, the government's proposed “restoration” of a demolished Ottoman building, which would have both reified a neo-Ottoman political identity and served as a glittering shopping mall; and on the other, the desire of a broad coalition of citizens and civic organizations to conserve an urban public park and its five hundred plane trees. When public revulsion against police violence transformed Gezi in June 2013 with massive demonstrations and millions in seventy-nine cities across Turkey joined in protest, the Gezi Resistance evolved from a rejection of the government's authoritarian vision for heritage restoration and urban renovation into a rejection of the governing bloc's cultural hegemony generally. It is worth recounting the crisis in conservation in Istanbul's Taksim Square and the culture wars in the years leading up to the Gezi events, a troubled triangle of public architectural heritage, government plans, and civil resistance. In the aftermath of the Gezi events, and of 15 July 2016, when progovernment citizens took to the streets to thwart a military coup, we are left with sobering questions. What are the limits of public participation in architectural conservation and urban historic preservation? Can a coalition of citizens and civic organizations preserve and sustain public architectural heritage against the will of the government, in defiance of the prerogative of its bureaucracy, and brave the violence visited upon the people by the state's police? What happens when the fate …

Green space context and vegetation complexity shape people’s preferences for urban public parks and residential gardens

Landscape preferences shape decision-making and drive the ecological outcomes of urban landscapes. We investigate how people’s landscape preferences are shaped by the green space context (public park vs private residential garden landscapes) and by physical features such as vegetation complexity. A postal questionnaire was sent to households near seven urban parks in Melbourne, Australia. Results showed that landscapes were grouped into four categories based on patterns of preference response. Landscapes with moderate vegetation complexity were placed in separate categories distinguished by green space context (parks vs gardens), while very simple and very complex landscapes were placed in different categories irrespective of green space context. Surprisingly, dense vegetation was highly preferred by respondents. As areas of dense vegetation also provide complex habitats for wildlife, this highlights the possibility of developing policies and designing landscapes that can benefit both people and nature.

‘I think it adds value, but I don’t use it’: use, perceptions and attitudes of outdoor exercise equipment in an urban public park

ABSTRACTPublic open spaces are important places that can contribute to public health initiatives through facilitating leisure-time physical activity. Using the findings from 400 self-completed questionnaires of park visitors, this exploratory study examined people’s use, perception and attitudes of a specific type of outdoor exercise equipment (in the form of a stretch station circuit) installed in an urban public park in a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The data highlights that the equipment is positively perceived by existing park users in that it is seen to add value to the park and is a ‘good investment’ by their local government authority. Users of the equipment did enjoy it and wanted more installed. However, there appears to be little perceived benefit in terms of its contribution to the physical activity levels of park users, particularly with regard to a key target group – those people who engage in little leisure-time physical activity.

Public parks as an element of urban planning: a missing piece in Accra's growth and development

ABSTRACTPublic parks are important to urban environments, residents, and visitors. Among other functions, they provide environmental services, such as air and water purification, and they increase both recreational opportunities and the attractiveness of the urban environment. Because of their importance, urban parks serve as public spaces that provide visitors and urban residents with rights to the city. This paper identifies the dearth of urban public parks in Accra-Tema city-region as worrying. The Accra Plan 1958 underscored the significance of green spaces and designated the coastal strip for parks development but the areas have been lost to various urban uses. We argue that the continual neglect of public parks within urban planning and community development schemes in the Accra-Tema city-region is a major concern because it is depriving the citizens a right to the city and its public spaces. A number of factors have worked adversely against the provision of public parks and green spaces in the city-region. These include development pressures, undue political interference, a complex land delivery system, and ad hoc planning. The paper concludes by offering policy suggestions as to how to resolve the dearth of parks and green spaces in the city-region.

Urban park soundscape in distinct sociocultural and geographical contexts

Abstract The importance of soundscape in urban public parks has galvanised researchers concerned with improving the sound environment in cities. Existing literature reveals, however, a relative paucity of studies on soundscape in particular sociocultural and environmental contexts, and on the influence of these contexts in the perception of the urban sound space.Within this framework, this paper investigates the soundscape of parks in the cities of Belém, Brazil, and Lisbon, Portugal. The influence of geography and climate as determinant of activities and behaviors, the emission of natural and man-made sounds that characterise the soundscape of urban parks, the way park users evaluate the quality of sound environments were analysed, as were other elements that contribute for such an appreciation. The methodology encompassed sound measurements inside and outside the parks, analysis of the audibility of identifiable sound sources, study of local uses and activities through soundwalks and interviews, and assessment of responses to enquiries. The results shows that the soundscape of park depends on different features such as geography, climate, urban architecture, park infrastructure, sound sources, and most importantly the visitors’ expectations for the planned activities, together with their other sensorial responses, which proved to be different in distinct sociocultural and environmental contexts.

Urban Park Use, Quality Evaluation, and Resident Satisfaction Indicators in the City of Zahedan, Iran

Urban parks have social, economic, and ecological roles, and play important role in improving the quality of life and community development. This study investigates the usage rate of urban parks by residents in the city of Zahedan, Iran, and evaluates the quality of them in terms of furniture and facilities, in this survey study participants are 520 of Zahedani residents divided into two ordinary (n=500) and expert groups (n=20) selected from the population using Cochran's formula. Number of evaluated urban parks was 101 distributed in five regions of the city. A survey questionnaire was designed for collecting data from participants. Results showed that Zahedani residents use urban parks once a week (70%). Also we found out that the quality of urban parks in Zahedan was poor. Our findings revealed that “public toilet facilities”, “green spaces”, “safety”, “accessibility”, “welfare facilities”, “trails”, and “equipments” are most important indicators for evaluating resident satisfaction with public urban parks. Finally, our results reported that there was a significant relationship between residents’ satisfaction level and standard quality of urban parks.

Nested patterns in urban butterfly species assemblages: respective roles of plot management, park layout and landscape features

Increasing numbers of cities are currently developing sustainable policies aimed at promoting urban biodiversity and ecological dynamics through the planning of green networks and the implementation of more sustainable management practices. These human activities can strongly influence environmental factors on which the organization of ecological communities at different scales depends. Thus, it is of fundamental importance to understand the relative impact of local management, green space design and landscape features on the distribution and the abundance of species in urban areas. On the basis of 2 years of butterfly surveys in urban public parks within an extensive Mediterranean metropolitan area, Marseille (South-East France), the aim of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the effect of these three environmental scales (plot, park, landscape) on the composition and organization of species assemblages. Using variation partitioning and nestedness analysis on ecological data aggregated at plot-level and park-level respectively, we demonstrate the preponderant effect of landscape scale features on urban butterfly assemblages. Our results also highlight an important co-variation of plot management, park layout and urban landscape features, in their interaction with the community structure of urban butterflies. Although there is no significant species-area relationship, significantly nested patterns arise in species composition. Selective colonization appears as a driving force constraining the constitution of species assemblages within the city. However, a prospective study on adjacent more natural areas suggests that biotic limitations, interspecific competition and habitat filtering may play an important role if a larger portion of the urbanization gradient is explored, which remains to be investigated.

Beyond green-planning political orientations: Contrasted public policies and their relevance to nature perceptions in two European capitals

Abstract In the international agenda of conserving biodiversity and urban green planning, we explored how biodiversity-friendly political orientations in two European metropolises (Paris–France and Berlin–Germany) were translated in public urban park management. To do so, we used a mixed methods research strategy: we analyzed both cities’ strategies for biodiversity and landscape, conducted semi-structured interviews with park managers, surveyed park design and management, and administered questionnaire to specific city dwellers. We showed that the biodiversity strategies in both cities similarly aim at increasing urban biodiversity and city dwellers’ awareness; however, they are highly contrasted in their implementation, with Paris having a high level of control and top-down processes compared to Berlin. Accordingly, nature perceptions of city-dwellers differed between both capitals only in their willingness for nature-control (which was more present in Paris than in Berlin). With this example, we discuss how integrative environmental planning can encourage specific implementations of a global strategy.

Many public urban parks, but who profits from them? The example of Tabriz, Iran

Public urban parks are accessible to everyone in a city. The time people need to reach a public park influences the accessibility of the park. Parks far away from home are less accessible because of time to spend to reach them than those in the neighborhood. Good green urban infrastructure aims to provide different types of parks (by size and structure) to all urban dwellers. The network of parks should allow all inhabitants to have access to parks within close proximity to their residences. This paper aims to investigate the accessibility of parks as related to the social status of the inhabitants. This was investigated using the example of a clearly socially stratified city (Tabriz, Iran), in which a part of the urban society (by total number and social status) has better or worse access to urban parks. The example of urban parks shows which services are supplied on site and who the potential users are within an accessible distance. The services are qualified by structural park indicators and quantified by the quantity of these indicators. The distances are calculated on the basis of the size of the parks. Different distance circles around the parks indicate from where most of the users are coming, depending on park category. A quantification of population as related to potential users by social status in different distances to the parks shows the accessibility of parks for different quantities of inhabitants and different social strata. The classification of social status (high, middle, and low) was carried out by General Census of statistical center in 2005, informal settlement project data, statistical blocks data, land price in Tabriz municipality, and master and detailed plan reports. Many households do not enjoy government recommended levels of access to public green spaces in Tabriz, and the results highlight the social segregation in park distribution and their accessibility. The best parks are located in the high social status areas, and the accessibility is the best among all societal levels.

Place Identity of Nighttime Urban Public Park in Shah Alam and Putrajaya

Abstract This paper is a comparative study of place identity of nighttime urban public parks between Shah Alam that was built in 1957 and Putrajaya in 1999. This study used four research domains that form place identity adapted from Relph, 1976 and Cheshmehzangi, 2012 . The method of this study involves the behavior mapping survey and the questionnaire survey. The data were then analysed using Measurable Indicator Scoring Technique ( Karim, 2008 ) to ensure constant comparative process by creating analytic codes. It is hope that the findings from this study would help to improve the place identity and functions of future nighttime urban public parks.

The implicit price of urban public parks and greenways: a spatial-contextual approach

This paper examines the value residents place on public parks in a mid-sized urban area. The analysis makes a direct contribution to the literature by examining the extent to which spatial and neighbourhood context is related to the house price premium or discount associated with public recreational opportunities, natural resource areas and urban greenways. The analysis shows that the value of public parks and greenways varies across space, neighbourhood context and park type. Community area fixed-effects are included to bolster the findings. The findings indicate that park and greenway investment should be planned and managed contextually in urban areas. Park planners can use these findings to inform public policy debates over park investment and, perhaps, support efforts focused on comprehensive neighbourhood planning.

Existência e inexistência de cercamento, segurança e acessibilidade de parques urbanos.

This study aims to evaluate the influence of the presence or absence of fencing of urban public parks in the users’ perception regarding the users’ safety (inside and outside the parks) and public property, as well as the accessibility of these spaces and the effects caused by this use and ownership of the internal spaces of the parks. Thus, were evaluated two parks in Porto Alegre, which are the Farroupilha Park and Germania Park. The main results show that the safety’ perception is not influenced by the lack of fencing in the open parks, contrary to what occurs in closed parks. Closed park’s users associate the presence of fencing on the preservation of public property, and in open parks this evaluation varies with the users’ type. Furthermore, the activities’ types performed by users of open parks, and the proximity of the residence, both in closed and in open parks, are factors that influence the evaluation of urban parks’ accessibility.

Urban Community Perception on Nighttime Leisure Activities in Improving Public Park Design

The design of urban public park is an important factor which influence urban community leisure. The objective of this study is to investigate the community perceptions on nighttime leisure activities in urban public park. The questionnaire survey is done in Padang (green field) located in the urban center of Shah Alam and Putrajaya using random stratifies technique. There are four types of variable studied related to nighttime leisure in an urban public park namely comforts, conveniences, safety and nighttime leisure. The findings from this study are expected to show a positive perception of nighttime leisure in urban public park towards urban community