Recreational activities in urban parks: Spatial interactions among users

Santos, Teresa; Mendes, Ricardo Manuel Nogueira; Vasco, António Branco

doi:10.1016/j.jort.2016.06.001

Cited by 86 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Urban parks, depending on their location and facilities, provide opportunities for social interaction and physical activity. Many studies have concluded that recreation and leisure activities in urban parks such as walking, running, cycling, and picnicking-in part due to higher standards of living and people wishing for a healthier lifestyle-has increased in recent years [12][13][14], although lifestyle…”

Section: The Benefits Of Urban Parksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of Urban Park Use and Their Relationship to Factors of Quality: A Case Study of Tehran, Iran

Bahriny

Bell

2020

Sustainability

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Urban parks play an important role in increasing the quality of urban life. Thus, a variety of approaches to planning and decision-making regarding sustainable open spaces and urban parks is needed, especially when models from one location are borrowed to another with a very different culture. In many developing countries cities are expanding without proper planning of public green spaces which places pressure on the quality of life. In common with many Middle Eastern cities, Tehran, the capital of Iran is a large sprawling metropolis which has experienced fast growth since 1970 and with little in the way of comprehensive planning of green spaces as an organised system. To date there has been no comprehensive investigation of urban parks regarding their level of use, range of activities, quality of maintenance, evidence of anti-social activities or the demographic character of their catchment-important information for effective park planning. In this study a representative sample of 16 parks in Tehran was studied using a combination of site assessments and user observations. We found that a combination of factors concerning the quality of the parks such as presence of facilities, existence of water and other special attractions, as well as how well-lit they are, how well maintained and safe they are, has a lot to do with their level of use. Some pleasant parks with good facilities are less well used because of, e.g., evidence of anti-social behaviour, poor maintenance and accessibility. A key aspect we found is the difference between male and female users, with some parks being much less-well-used by women. Much more attention is needed for planning and management of parks in Tehran. The approach applied here has potential to help other cities in similar areas to learn more about their green space systems for planning purposes.Sustainability 2020, 12, 1560 2 of 33 diseases from insufficient physical activity continue to increase [15]. One of the motivations for people to use urban parks, especially in dense and crowded cities, is to find a relatively calm and peaceful environment, especially at holiday times and weekends [16,17]. Negative Effect of Urban Parks (Crime and Safety)Set against all the positive aspects are a number of negative factors which may be found, depending on the location and context of a particular park. The feeling of safety-or insecurity-plays a significant role in the use of public parks and those with a reputation as dangerous places (perhaps at certain times of the day) can have a negative effect on visitors' perceptions in which perceived risks from crime and the presence of vandalism and anti-social behaviour are seen as a threat affecting use-especially among women [18][19][20]. Fear of crime has become an important issue in cities in recent years, so there should be a focus of improving personal safety through well-considered planning, design, and management of urban parks and other public open spaces [21]. As Sutton and Farrall [22] showed, gender affects perception of safety and i...

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Section: The Benefits Of Urban Parksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of Urban Park Use and Their Relationship to Factors of Quality: A Case Study of Tehran, Iran

Bahriny

Bell

2020

Sustainability

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“…Understanding public use and public use perceptions is useful for managers of protected areas for monitoring visitor impact, behaviour, needs, and satisfaction rates and for determining the type of visitor to a certain place [2,5]. This study has revealed numerous aspects of public use that help us to better understand visitation and visitor preferences in the Ebro Delta Natural Park and to record in-site movements [18,38].…”

Section: Constitution Of Public Usementioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been reported that spatial behaviour within protected sites depends on the area's physical characteristics (e.g., dunes, marshes, woods) but also on the general behaviour and civic-mindedness of each society and type of users [15,23]. It appears that trespassing onto reserves or straying from designated trails is less common in some cultures [39] than in others [38]. A study by [18] noticed that user's behaviour was related more strongly to the type of user than to their socio-demographic profile.…”

Section: Constitution Of Public Usementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Advanced assessments include delineation of crowded areas and delimitation of poorly-rated sites. Crowded areas with public use may yield to conflict [8,38] or to the coexistence of different types of users with interests in the same places [14]. Management plans can benefit from all this information and use social hotspots to promote sustainable public use.…”

Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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PPGIS and Public Use in Protected Areas: A Case Study in the Ebro Delta Natural Park, Spain

Buendía

Albert

Giné

2019

IJGI

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This paper analyses public use in the Ebro Delta Natural Park using PPGIS (public participation geographic information system) methodology. An online survey was designed using Google Maps API, HTML, and JAVASCRIPT. Respondents were asked to place and rate thirteen items on an interactive map to characterize and georeference public use with regard to accessibility, facilities and services, signposting, safety and security, and leisure activities. In total we collected 209 valid surveys and mapped 2617 georeferenced opinions. Facilities and services were rated highly by users (72.46% were "very satisfied"). These were followed by accessibility (61%, "very satisfied") and signposting (60.2%, "satisfied" or "quite satisfied"). Safety and security items were hardly rated perhaps because users do not feel insecure in the area. Respondents' mapping of opinions and experiences, which are heterogeneous and were well rated, enabled us to visualize areas that might be understood as social hotspots. Our results show that PPGIS is an effective procedure for measuring public use in protected areas and may be a valuable tool for park managers and planners. in order to understand and manage visitors' behaviour. Three main strategies help to adjust public use include direct regulation, directive measures, and indirect measures [9]. Direct regulation relies on policing, regulations, and force of law to educate visitors' behaviour. Directive measures guide visitors in desired directions or attitudes but do not impose or enforce behaviours. Indirect measures use information, interpretation, and other learning opportunities to raise visitor awareness while allowing them the freedom to act. A combination of these three types of measures is usually employed but managers tend to turn to direct regulation when the other two measures fail [9]. Visitors are not usually aware of these measures and do not need to be for them to succeed [5]. However, public use measures help managers to understand visitor behaviour and level of satisfaction and improve visitor experience [2]. Public use should therefore be monitored in order to assess the environmental and social impact of visitors, assess service quality, and evaluate visitors' needs and experiences [9].Public use can be monitored on a gradual scheme from simple situations to complex ones. A scheme by Reference [1] pinpoints five levels (from initial to advanced) that can be implemented as needs arise and require a range of effort to (1) collect, (2) summarise, (3) analyse, and (4) interpret data for management action. The public use approach is also summarized in eight programmes: welcoming, quality of facilities, environmental education, task monitoring and evaluation, finance, training, management and administration, public participation, health and safety, and research. Above all, proper public use is key to promoting sustainability and ensuring minimum social and environmental standards [3].Public use studies provide detailed information about visitor profiles, preferences, motivations,...

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“…Thus, they have significant role in health of society such that inattention and inefficiency of these spaces is usually considered serious problem for the city (1). The recreational use of urban spaces has increased significantly in recent years, due to a trend towards healthier lifestyles in which regular exercise plays a leading role (2). Leisure time is potentially one of the most important ways for facilitation of health, it is an area in which identify is constructed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Environmental Features of Parks in Activation of Recreational Activities in Leisure Time

Zohrevandian

Bastami

Naderloo

et al. 2017

Ann. Appl. Sport Sci

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Background. The recreational use of urban spaces has increased significantly in recent years, due to a trend towards healthier lifestyles in which regular exercise plays a leading role. Examples include walking, running or biking, activities for which large urban green parks provide excellent conditions. These parks, located within the city, are intended for public use and include landscape features such as trees, shrubs, extended grassy areas, playgrounds or water bodies. Objectives. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of environmental features of parks in activation of recreational activities. Methods. 425 people of over 18 years living near to six urban and regional parks in Tehran included in the study. Data collection has been done through questionnaire (Bedimo-Rung, 2005; Kaczynski, 2007 and Cohen, 2007), and data analysis has been done through structural equations and multivariate regression. Results. The research findings showed that the variables of design (T=2.84), green space (T=3.25), accessibility (T=2.17), Placement (T=3.18), beauty (T=2.04), traffic expectation (T=2.45), security (T=2.27), and management (T=2.35), have relation with attendance and attraction of users of parks for recreational activity. Conclusion. Management of public green spaces leads to increased presence and attendance of elderlies and recreational activities by creating building natural symbols and social interaction. Increased security of environment and its equipment leads to increased welfare, elevated revenues and occupational status and increased attendance of individuals in parks.

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Recreational activities in urban parks: Spatial interactions among users

Cited by 86 publications

References 26 publications

Patterns of Urban Park Use and Their Relationship to Factors of Quality: A Case Study of Tehran, Iran

Patterns of Urban Park Use and Their Relationship to Factors of Quality: A Case Study of Tehran, Iran

PPGIS and Public Use in Protected Areas: A Case Study in the Ebro Delta Natural Park, Spain

The Role of Environmental Features of Parks in Activation of Recreational Activities in Leisure Time

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