Planning Public Parks Under Resilience Theory: a Framework for Negotiating Ecosystem Services and Organised Community Sport
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School of Built Environment Department of Urban and Regional Planning Planning Public Parks under Resilience Theory: A Framework for Negotiating Ecosystem Services and Organised Community Sport Isaac Samuel Middle This thesis is presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Curtin University September 2016 Declaration To the best of my knowledge and belief this thesis contains no material previously published by any person except where due acknowledgement has been made. This thesis contains no material that has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. Signature: Date: 24/09/2016 Abstract While public park planning in the middle of the 20th century focus mainly on the provision of opportunities for organized community sport, contemporary parks now serve a fundamentally ecological role combining environmental conservation with the provision of opportunities for contact with nature. Despite government policy initiatives acting to increase participation in community sport, this planning shift has seen a decrease in the amount of sporting playing fields provided within new residential areas. This thesis is a response to this emerging situation – identified in several Australian cities but most notably through recent research in Perth – and has the aim of investigating how demand for space for organised community sport can be met in a way that acknowledges and complements the fundamental ecological role of contemporary public parks. To meet its aim, this thesis begins by outlining a theoretical framework for planning public parks to achieve its ecological role, which is understood as the provision of both regulating and cultural ecosystem services. Using insights from urban ecological resilience theory, it outlines three practices that can allow parks to support the conservation and management of biodiversity and urban water resources: complementary spatial planning, ongoing adaptive management by diverse social networks and multi-functional design. Under human health resilience theory, it outlines three key insights for how public parks can best provide the four key cultural ecosystem services of mental restoration, physical activity, social interactions and environmental education: the need to focus on socioeconomically disadvantaged areas and those individuals most vulnerable to poor health, providing the specific environmental qualities most likely to facilitate each service for vulnerable individuals, and the need to include these individuals in design and ongoing governance of local parks. Through a case study of planning practice in Perth’s northern suburbs, this thesis then outlines planning practice that can allow the sporting function of parks to be provided within this framework. The case study contains two separate investigations: one investigating alternate locations for sporting parks; and the second investigating their design. Primarily using a quantitative spatial mapping approach, the location investigation looks at the potential of both co-located local school sporting parks and larger district sporting complexes to effectively meet demand for community sporting fields alongside ecological planning approaches. Whilst barriers exist to their widespread iii implementation, it is determined that each location has considerable potential benefits: school sporting parks can help meet demand for playing fields at the local level, whilst making greater use of the playing field during the school day and potentially increasing the benefits of school time active recreation; district sporting complexes can meet demand for playing fields at the district level, whilst providing more comprehensive organised sporting facilities that may enhance the community-building function of sport. Using primarily an intercept questionnaire survey combined with the systematic and descriptive observations, the design investigation looked at four different ecological landscapes that could potentially facilitate cultural ecosystem services within sporting parks. It primarily compared a permanent water area and a seasonal drainage area transformed into an off-the-leash dog park. While the dog park was more highly used, the permanent water area was found to be more likely to facilitate each cultural ecosystem service besides social interactions. This lead to the conclusion that permanent water areas may be most effective at facilitating mental restoration, and to a lesser extent physical activity and environmental education, however are problematic in Perth’s climatic conditions. Transforming seasonal drainage basins into dog parks can be an effective way of utilising their recreational potential, particularly for facilitating social interactions, however flooding and rubbish from runoff can create issues for users. Some preliminary, primarily theoretical findings are also outlined for the other two landscapes: remnant vegetation appears most effective at facilitating neighbourhood walking and active environmental education, however may represent negative value for some users; community gardens have theoretical potential to facilitate each of the four cultural ecosystem services within a relatively small space, but may have low use that could make their community-driven governance style unsustainable. iv Acknowledgements To my examiners, for making this a far better thesis and (perhaps more importantly) making me earn it. To my supervisors Dave and Mike. Sorry about the early drafts. To my two unofficial supervisors – Dad and Marian. To Mum, Katey and Juno; to a lesser extent Dax, Ellie (RIP) and Roger/Woger. To the local park planners and practitioners who assisted greatly to this thesis, particularly Nick Stawarz and Rachel Thorpe. To Koral Ward, for her thorough but not demoralizing edit. To Bec, and our life saving Yin classes: now it’s your turn! (No, really, finish it.) To my other Curtin colleagues, particularly Robyn and Courtney, for moral, psychological and caffeinated/sugar support, particularly during the home stretch. To my high school friends, for generally not asking about this, and doing so only out of duty when they actually did. To my Baha’i friends, for asking about this, and reminding me why and how lucky I am to be doing this. In the spirit of full disclosure… To Cannabis – for providing some light in what was a pretty long and dark tunnel. And finally, to God, whatever you are: thanks for the opportunity, but don’t ever put me through that again please. v Table of Contents Declaration ...................................................................................................................i Abstract .................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. v Table of Contents .....................................................................................................vi List of Tables.............................................................................................................. x List of Figures ...........................................................................................................xi 1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................1 1.1 Context of Research......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research Aim and Questions ..................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Research Significance..................................................................................................................... 7 1.4 Definition of Key Terminology ................................................................................................. 9 1.4.1 Public Parks.................................................................................................................................... 9 1.4.2 Ecological Park Functions and Ecosystem Services ...................................................11 1.4.3 Sporting Park Functions and Sporting Services...........................................................11 1.4.4 Resilience Theory ......................................................................................................................12 1.4.4.1 Urban Ecological Resilience................................................................................................ 12 1.4.4.2 Human Health Resilience .................................................................................................... 13 1.4.5 Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Areas........................................................................14 1.5 Structure of Thesis........................................................................................................................ 14 2. Background ........................................................................................................ 17 2.1 Historical Trends in Public Park Planning ..................................................................... 17 2.1.1 Rus in Urbe: The Country in the City ................................................................................17 2.1.2 Organised Active Recreation and Planning Standards..............................................19 2.1.3 Environmental Planning and Green Infrastructure ...................................................20