Recreational opportunity for park use modelled on a landscape scale

Abstract

Public parks contribute to the quality of life for us as urban dwellers. Greenspaces encourage physical activity and social integration, are important for personal development and restoration, and reconnect us with nature- all contributing to our health and well being. Coupled with the heterogeneous mix of people inhabiting cities, a variety of needs can be met with informed planning and design. Limited knowledge exists as to how different parks attract different people. Previous studies have examined the distances people travel to get to parks whilst others have focussed on what they do there. Yet, little is known of how different types of parks and their features entice different types of people and activity. We surveyed 240 people within 25 different parks across Metropolitan Adelaide. Respondents were questioned on how far they had travelled, modes of travel to the park and what they do there. The parks were classified based on their attributes into the four most common types of parks found in Adelaide- Pocket, Family, Activities and Conservation. Results revealed that the distances travelled and mode of travel differ for demographic groups for each type of park, allowing us to better understand the social catchments of various parks. Using a GIS, we applied this knowledge to mapping the social catchments of parks in the Brownhill-Keswick catchment. We assessed the current configuration of parks in the landscape, identifying areas that may be improved through better planning for our health and well being as a whole.