Search results

The aim of this study is to identify factors that users find important in their use of the neighborhood park (to evaluate design of the neighborhood park from the view point of users) and to consider the impact of well designed neighborhood parks on business strategy compared to the traditional view.

The population of this study was drawn from park users and neighborhood residents. Park visitors were conveniently sampled through an intercept survey method form. Taman Sri Nibong Park is one of the biggest neighborhood parks in Pulau Pinang. A total of 173 questionnaires were returned. The data were analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics.

By knowing the needs and preferences of visitors and neighborhood residents, the present study concludes that more efforts should be made to include certain qualities in designing neighborhood areas to attract more visitors and investors. Related to the effectiveness of design on park users' perceptions and preferences, this study as well as observations has found that park users perceive some elements of environmental design, like physical barriers of fences and hedges between playground and the football field, effective in protecting users from accident and injury in the park. Another suggestion, which users made was for more supervisors to be in the park or playground to take care of the children while they use the equipment.

The current study is limited in its scope because of the need to complete the study within a limited time and budget. Future studies are needed to explore how design strategies of Neighborhood Parks can satisfy urban neighborhood populations and also support social business development. The directions for future research are identified as more research should be conducted in this regard and more neighborhood parks should be considered allowing for comparison among them.

This research would enable landscape architects and environmental designers as well as business and community developers to match specific developmental goals of urban neighborhood environmental planning. It can influence business strategies to attract more investment by the community developer, and also this new approach can influence the future of the society and its sustainability.

The paper challenges the traditional view of parks as places that only incur social expense to a new perception that views them as revenue and social business places.

This paper probes into the relationship between Neighbourhood Parks and their efficiency as a potential stress reliever from the outdoor environment. It consists of the introduction to the relationship between stress and outdoor environment, background research on recent issues of Neighbourhood Park and it then continues with the context of perceiving Neighbourhood Park as a stress reliever. This paper looks into the previous studies that employed observations, survey, interviews and instruments as methods in proving Neighbourhood Parks as a potential stress reliever. Relevant findings were highlighted and recommendations for improving the design and planning were suggested to generate more quality living environment in the future.

This paper will identify people's experience of visiting selected neighborhood parks and their overall evaluations of selected neighborhood parks. The study is notably done by gathering data from the residents based on their neighborhood parks' experiences, including the landscape features and facilities related to their experiences.

The Likert scale questions on user's experience of using park features at the neighborhood parks, open-ended questions were being applied in order to achieve more data on respondents' feelings and experiences on their thoughts. Then, the feedback from the information gathered from a minimum number of respondents (n = 382) will get into the development of semi-structured interview questions to discuss possible suggestions and recommendations for a better neighborhood park by interviewing a landscape architect and a planner.

The paper provides empirical insights on three particular themes that arise as significant in resident's experience of neighborhood parks in Kuala Lumpur. These three themes are by exploring the facilities of neighborhood parks, connection with natural features and the need for safety that has shown by the residents' experience and evaluation.

Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.

The respondents consistently see neighborhood parks as a place for exercise, children's play area, social space and enjoying nature.

This paper fulfills an identified people's use and experience of neighborhood parks in Kuala Lumpur.

New York City’s status as a majority “minority” city is reflected in many local neighborhoods that exemplify the racial and ethnic diversity of the urban landscape in the 21st century. In this quintessential immigrant city, the relative share of foreign-born has reached levels not seen since the historic immigrant wave at the turn of the last century (Foner, 2000; Scott, 2002). While “all the nations under heaven” are represented among old and new New Yorkers, researchers find that patterns of residential segregation persist and in fact, have worsened especially for African Americans (Beveridge, 2001; Logan, 2001). The racial balkanization of New York City, however, is tempered by the expansion of “polyethnic” or “global” neighborhoods. These racially and ethnically diverse neighborhoods are found throughout New York City but their concentration in the borough of Queens is notable. Moreover, the magnitude of ethnic diversity in these neighborhoods has “no parallel in previous waves of immigration” (Foner, 2000, p. 58).

This chapter aims to review evidence of the relationships between dog ownership, dog walking and overall walking and the factors associated with dog walking. It reviews the evidence using a social ecological framework. The chapter finds that dog ownership and dog walking are associated with higher levels of walking. A number of social ecological factors are associated with dog walking. Motivation and social support provided by the dog to walk and a sense of responsibility to walk the dog are associated with higher levels of dog walking. Positive social pressure from family, friends, dog owners and veterinarians is also associated with higher levels of dog walking. Built and policy environmental characteristics influence dog walking, including dog-specific factors such as access to local attractive public open space with dog-supportive features (off-leash, dog waste bags, trash cans, signage), pet-friendly destinations (cafes, transit, workplaces, accommodation) and local laws that support dog walking. Large-scale intervention studies are required to determine the effect of increased dog walking on overall walking levels. Experimental study designs, such as natural and quasi-experiments, are needed to provide stronger evidence for causal associations between the built and policy environments and dog walking. Given the potential of dog walking to increase population-levels of walking, urban, park and recreational planners need to design neighbourhood environments that are supportive of dog walking and other physical activity. Advocacy for dog walking policy-relevant initiatives are needed to support dog walking friendly environments. Health promotion practitioners should make dog walking a key strategy in social marketing campaigns.

There is a lack of understanding in the literature on the relation between parks and house price in relation to crime in Scandinavian context. This paper aims to investigate the effect of the amenity value of accessibility to parks on apartment prices with reference to crime rates in parks in Stockholm.

This paper analyses the effects of park proximity and crime in parks on apartment prices by using geographic information systems and hedonic modelling.

Findings show that the proximity of parks as an environmental amenity has an effect on apartment prices. The results also demonstrate that the impact of parks on apartment prices is different in the different segments of the apartment market in Stockholm. Moreover, various types of parks may differ in their impact, for instance, grass parks and park blocks are more desirable in Stockholm than landscape parks and neighbourhood parks. The effects of crimes in parks influence apartment prices negatively.

This paper provides a new methodology by using the shortest distance to a park as a main variable. The shortest distance to a park variable is considered a better choice than using park as an aggregate measure. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the effect of specific park types, for instance, grass parks, neighbourhood parks, landscape parks and park blocks, in Stockholm housing market.