EXPERIENCING THE URBAN GREEN SPACE An exploratory study of visiting behaviour, perceptions and preferences in the urban green spaces of São Paulo, Brazil 2 Experiencing the Urban Green Space An exploratory study of visiting behaviour, perceptions and preferences in the urban green spaces of São Paulo, Brazil In fulfilment of the requirements for the Master’s thesis in: Sustainable Development - International Development Faculty of Geosciences, Department of Innovation and Environmental Sciences Utrecht University Marthe Laura Derkzen Under supervision of Dr. Gery Nijenhuis International Development Studies, Utrecht University April 2012 3 4 Executive summary In an ever more urbanising world the role of urban green space is crucial to maintain and enhance the quality of life in cities. Green spaces provide cities with a flexible instrument to adapt to climate change, they encourage social interaction, community identity and promote an active lifestyle, green spaces generate local employment and increase property values and urban vegetation shapes a city by providing it with a natural and historical structure. Apart from these functions, urban green space is a venue for events and a place where people recreate, escape from everyday stress and routine, meet other people, and where children play in a natural environment. This recreational function of urban green space is explored by profiling the green spaces and their users in the metropolis of São Paulo, Brazil. Through time, recreational patterns evolved from hunting games in palace gardens to shopping malls and theme parks. The use of urban green space for recreational purposes was initiated when the rural society turned into an urban-industrial society that lost the connection with nature and so the first public parks and gardens emerged in the nineteenth century. Today, outdoor recreation is influenced by a general trend of health and well-being and this is reflected in the increase of eco-tourism destinations and the presence of joggers in city parks. The ways in which urban green space is utilised is related to socioeconomic factors and to the physicality of the green space in question. Women for example, are found to engage more in walking, meeting friends, playing with children and enjoying the landscape whereas men prefer to exercise or play team sports. Men are also found to visit parks more and likewise young people dominate urban green spaces in São Paulo. Persons with higher incomes have the possibility to travel further in search for a green space to their liking and this makes that the green space public can be very park specific. The most common transport means are the car and a large share of the park visitors comes on foot, in particular in smaller parks that welcome predominantly visitors that live in the same area. The longer people travel, the longer they stay and the more infrequently they come to the green space. In the studied parks in São Paulo most people visit the park once or multiple times a week and their main reasons are to be in contact with nature and to relax. Sports are also a popular reason and it is mostly running, cycling and playing soccer which is done by male visitors of urban green spaces. An interesting aspect of urban green space utilisation and perception in São Paulo is the influence of the socioeconomic context. Green spaces in more deprived urban areas are being perceived as less well-maintained, less safe, offering fewer leisure facilities and play and sport equipment is of a lower quality. Education and income levels are related with the activities of park users, the means of transport they use, house, garden and car ownership, the time of the day that people visit the park, and with the way in which people perceive the offer of urban green spaces on the city level. The latter is also influenced by people’s nature experience seeing that people who grew up in a big city are more eager to encounter nature in the green spaces than people from villages do. Altogether, the visitors, use and perception of urban green spaces in São Paulo varies substantially, for a large part due to socioeconomic characteristics and to physical green space elements. Recommendations that can be given to green space designers, planners and managers are related to the number of green spaces, their distribution, the range and quality of available leisure equipment and activities and to safety and maintenance issues. Green space policy needs to be better informed about the people who use urban green areas, about the neighbourhoods in which they are located or will be created, about the recreational demands of current and future users and about the functionality of existing green spaces as it often happens that parks and other managed green areas are being perceived as inadequate in certain aspects and green space managers need to be informed about that through park councils but also by establishing contacts with the actual users of urban green space. Only then the use of urban green space will increase and the quality of life for urban residents can be sustained and enhanced. 5 Preface When I look back at the times when I as a child was feeding the ducks and watching the deer in a city park in my hometown, these memories contain a certain feeling of happiness that only arises when I am in a green, open and natural environment. It can be described as a feeling of freedom, of unlimited space and time that makes you want to run around smiling and makes all other feelings disappear. During travels and five years of living in other countries it seemed to me that this feeling is universal, but I also noticed that the possibilities for experiencing such a feeling are not equally divided over places, that urbanisation has decimated the availability of green space, and that not everybody is in a position to reach green areas. This realisation is the main reason why I chose to write my Master’s thesis about urban green spaces and their users. Underlying report is written as to fulfil the final requirements for the Prestige Master’s programme Sustainable Development – International Development at Utrecht University. It contains an exposition of theories regarding urban green space and the results of a field research that has been performed in São Paulo, Brazil. Urban green space is a research field gaining importance at a time in which sustainable development, green cities, renewable energy, ecosystem services, biodiversity, corporate social responsibility and many more ‘sustainable’ thoughts and topics are juxtaposed with a continuing increase of the world’s population living in cities. In addition, global climate change makes that national and local governments need to rethink current spatial planning and design of the urban areas where a majority of the people live, where jobs are generated, identities are shaped and where the heart of their economy beats. Urban green spaces are essential elements of the urban structure that are indispensable for a city bearing in mind the function of urban green space in biodiversity conservation, social cohesion, image building and aesthetic attractiveness, environmental education and in protecting cities from the impact of climate change. With a focus on the social dimension of urban green space and a field study carried out in a South American metropolis this report aims to deliver a substantial contribution to the interdisciplinary field of urban green space research. 6 Note of appreciation My gratitude goes out to all the persons in São Paulo who have been willing to support this study by sharing their thoughts, opinions and experiences with me: green space users, residents, park managers, policy makers and academics. I wish to thank Gery Nijenhuis from Utrecht University who agreed to be my supervisor and guided me through this research project. Gery counselled me during the thesis process with frequent meetings and quick responses to my questions, she provided constructive comments and helped in particular with regard to the working method and planning during the writing process. In Brazil I received guidance from Wagner Costa Ribeiro from the University of São Paulo whose support in the start up phase of the research project has been especially helpful. Professors from the University of São Paulo whom I am very grateful for their contribution to the topical content of this work are Vladimir Bartalini and Demóstenes Ferreira da Silva Filho. In the field I received great support from Frederico Jun Okabayashi who works at the Municipal Secretariat of Green and Environment (SVMA) and who thought me most of my knowledge of the green areas of São Paulo. Fred showed me various urban parks, natural areas and took me to interesting meetings – together with Fred I also wish to thank Julia, Guilherme and Newton. Carlos Roberto Fortner and the entire SVMA have enabled me to visit and research the parks of São Paulo. Furthermore, I would like to thank all park administrators that supported my research and informed me about the ins and outs of their parks: Roberto Rosa in Villa-Lobos, Felipe Frascarelli Pascalicchio and Fábio Pellaes in Carmo, Heraldo Guiaro and Helena Quintana Minchin in Ibirapuera and Rodrigo Bisanson Cavalin in Pinheirinho d’Água. Finally, I am very grateful to Fernanda, Odete and Otavio who welcomed me in São Paulo, made me feel at home and make that I look back at my stay in Brazil as a very pleasant and happy period. Obrigada. Marthe Laura Derkzen Utrecht, the Netherlands April 2012 7 Table of contents Executive summary 5 Preface 6 Note of appreciation 7 Table of contents 8 List of tables and figures 10 Section One 1. Introduction 15 1.1 Problem definition, aims and objectives 15 1.2 Relevance for science and society 16 1.3 Urban green spaces: a brief introduction 17 1.4 The Brazilian setting 18 1.5 Report structure 19 2.