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PARKS AS A PLACE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIAL INTERACTIONS

For the National Outdoor Recreation Professionals Conference Dr Christine Vogt Cybil Kho Wei Ling STUDY’S FOCUS

Our study’s research problem is to quantify the social and health values of park use.

QUANTIFYING VALUE OF PARK USE

SOCIAL VALUES HEALTH VALUES Demographic composition of Physical activity levels that park users, their social occur in parks and mental interaction with park users, restorative conditions from and place attachment. park uses.

ABOUT

Population of 14% of land 276 mi sq allocated for 521 parks parks and and green 5.5 million land area spaces green space

Greening and tree- Adding flowering species planting

1960s 1980s 1996s

1975 1990s Parks & Trees Greater focus on Act recreation Parks and Providing parks Recreation with different Department themes

BACKGROUND AND METHODS SITES SELECTION Age of Town & Density of Greenery

PUNGGOL WATERWAY • Young towns • Undergoing mass development • Park size: 16 ha • Population: 162,000

BISHAN-AMK • Middle-aged towns • 1980s and early 1990s • Park size: 65 ha • Population: 213,000

BEDOK • Mature towns • Pre-1980s • Park size: 41 ha • Population: 423,000 PARK BISHAN-ANG MO KIO PARK BISHAN-ANG MO KIO PARK

BEFORE AFTER BISHAN-ANG MO KIO PARK

PUNGGOL WATERWAY PARK IN A GLANCE More about this study

Data on greenery Health measures, measurement housing, and park tools for features observations (SOPARC)

Social measurements Mental and theories: restoration social interaction, benefits social motivations, people’s attachment to place

Independent Variable Maturity of estates which parks are in [Including newly developed or renovated parks] PARK USER AND ASSOCIATED BENEFITS Bedimo-Rung, Mowen, Cohen (2005)

Physical Mental Social Economic Environmental Benefits of Health Health Benefits Benefits Benefits parks and park Benefits Benefits usage

Physical Activity Park within Park Visit Park use

User Park Characteristics Characteristics Correlates of - Interpersonal - Structural park use/non-use - intrapersonal

HYPOTHESES

Mature districts compared to middle and younger districts, have:

• Higher perception of greenery level by users • Higher levels of social interactions • Higher level of vigorous physical activity • Higher mental restoration benefits

COLLECTING AND ANALYSING DATA Methods & Techniques

A random sampling calendar

Observations on 3,989 park user groups

1,089 completed surveys COLLECTING DATA Time spent at the Park

April- June All days of the week

7AM to 8PM

12 times per park, 4 hours of fieldwork each time

216 hours of survey and 72 hours of observations [1 completed survey per 5 minutes] PARK USE SAMPLE SIZE Total OBSERVATION Sample=3,989

Bishan-AMK Bedok (n=1,478) (n=1,353) 37% 33%

Punggol Waterway (n=1,158) 30% PARK USE SAMPLE SIZE Total SURVEY Sample=1,089

Punggol Bedok (n=345), (n=385), 32% 35%

Bishan-AMK (n=359), 33% Recorded 761 Refusals FINDINGS PERCEPTION OF ENVIRONMENT Park Characteristic

3.8 3.6 3.6 3.4 3.4

2.9 2.8 2.9 2.9 Park users validated green cover at the three parks.

Bedok Bishan-AMK Punggol Bedok Bishan–AMK Punggol Number of mature trees for shade 3.8 3.4 2.9 Presence of aesthetically beautiful trees and plants 3.4 3.6 3.6 Opportunities to see animals (birds, butterflies, squirrels) 2.9 2.8 2.9 Scale: 1=Not many to 5= A lot PARK FACILITIES FOR SOCIALIZING

The playground was found to be the facility where most talking and socializing activity occurred.

Talking and Socializing Activities Observed Bedok Bishan-AMK Punggol

Playground 81% 87% 90%

Gazebo 47% 57% 73%

Bench 37% 43% 51%

Jetty 40% 40% 40%

Trail- Walking 29% 32% 21%

Trail- Cycling 16% 14% 16%

Trail- Jogging 5% 4% 5% FRIENDLINESS IN PARKS Measuring Social Outcomes

A majority of park users positively responded to smiles; with Punggol Waterway being the friendliest.

Bedok 21% 19% 60%

Bishan 19% 26% 55%

Punggol 18% 16% 66%

Unreachable with Smile Experiment were: 50%, 41%, 37% of respondents from Bedok, Bishan, and Punggol respectively. PROXIMITY OF RESIDENCE User Characteristic

33% 48% 55% 16%

26% 22% Distant district 51% Nearby district 26% 23% Adjacent

Bedok Bishan Punggol SEEING PEOPLE IN PARKS Measuring Social Outcomes

Social Interaction “When you visit this park, do you see other people you know?”

Bedok Bishan – Punggol AMK Waterway Often 9% 7% 8%

Sometimes 32 35 32

Infrequently 23 23 21

Never 36 36 39

Peters et al. (2010) reported in a study of 3 Dutch urban parks that few interactions occurred, but those that did occur were actively sought and valued as positive. MEASURING SOCIAL OUTCOMES Bishan VS Punggol

BISHAN-AMK PUNGGOL

Frequent

Distance Distance

Infrequent MEASURING SOCIAL OUTCOMES by Park Frequency and Proximity

1. Frequent users indicated they were more likely to “often” see people they knew during a visit than infrequent users.

2. When frequency was controlled, the proximity and social interaction weakened but was still significant.

3. Those who live distant and infrequently use the park were more likely to be socially inactive when at a park. DOMINANT PARK FACILITY Park Characteristic

Trails are the dominant facility used in parks. The park in the most mature district had higher usage of benches, playgrounds and jetty than the other parks studied.

Facility Bedok Bishan – AMK Punggol Trail-Sidewalk- 64% 87% 86% Path Bench 12 5 4 Gazebo 4 2 1 Playground 6 1 3

Jetty 7 --- 1 Nature Areas 7 5 5 (i.e., grass, shoreline) MOTIVATIONS

Measured with 5-point Likert Scale,

Pull factors Push factors Greenery Getting away from everyday life Tranquil areas Talking with family or friends Trails and park Spending time with spouse or facilities boy/girlfriend Accessibility from Having fun with others home Being around other people MOTIVATIONS

Based on means from 5-point Likert Scale,

1) Pull motives are stronger than Bedok Bishan– Punggol Push motives. AMK Pull 4.1 4.2 4.2 2) Pull: Greenery, tranquil areas and Push 3.1 3.0 3.2 accessibility from home were the Scale: 1=strongly disagree to strongest motives. 5=strongly agree

3) Push: Getting away from everyday life was the strongest motive. MAIN REASON FOR PARK USE

Exercise is the most popular reason to use parks, followed by relaxation, socialization, transport, and programming.

Bedok Bishan–AMK Punggol Exercise 64% 62% 64% Relaxation 22 21 20 Socialize 7 8 10 Transport – 3 3 3 Short Cut Program 1 1 1 Other 3 6 2 SOLO OR ACCOMPANIED Park Visit

Solo park uses are most common.

53% 50% 45%

36% 36% 34% Solo Family Friends/colleagues 17% 16% 11%

Bedok Bishan Punggol SOLO PARK VISITS

Particularly male solo use. 53% 50% 45% 12% 14% 10% Females

Males make up about 75% 38% 39% 35% Males of solo park use.

Bedok Bishan Punggol LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES Physical and Health Outcomes

Vigorous physical activities were a greater proportion of park uses at Punggol Waterway.

Sedentary activities were the lowest proportion of park uses at the 3 parks studied.

Bedok Bishan – AMK PunggolW Vigorous 62% 53% 76%

Moderate 57% 66% 42%

Sedentary 21% 21% 18% ACTIVITIES AT THE PARK based on Intensity Level of Activity

60%

52% 53% 50%

40% 40% 36%

30% Bedok Bishan 20% Punggol 20% 16% 12% 13% 10% 8% 5% 6%

0% Cycling Jogging WalkingWalking ExercisingExercising Playground WalkingWalking Resting EatingEating dog VIGOROUS MODERATE dog SEDENTARY ACTIVITIES AT THE PARK based on Intensity Level of Activity

For vigorous physical activities, • Cycling is the most popular at Punggol. • Jogging is popular at Bedok.

For moderately physical activity, • Walking is popular at Bishan-AMK Park.

All 3 parks offered a less active option for park users. MENTAL RESTORATION Physical and Health Outcomes

Singaporean park users scored high on a mental restoration scale, compared to Finnish subjects (Korpela et al., 2010).

Means Bedok Bishan-AMK Punggol Overall restoration scale ROS (Finnish study 3.5) 4.1 4.1 4.1 Specific elements of “restoration” Calming 4.2 4.2 4.1 Restored and relaxed 4.2 4.2 4.1 New enthusiasm and energy 4.0 4.1 4.1 for routines Increased concentration and 4.0 4.0 4.1 alertness Worries forgotten 3.9 3.9 4.0 Clearing and clarifying 4.1 4.1 4.0 thoughts Scale: 1=not at all; 5=completely HYPOTHESES

Mature districts compared to middle and younger districts, have:

(1) Higher perception of greenery level by users Supported (2) Higher level of social interactions Unsupported (3) Higher level of vigorous physical activity Unsupported The newest park garnered the highest level of vigorous physical activity. (4) Higher mental restoration benefits Unsupported All of the parks were similarly high in mental restoration benefits.

ConclusionCONCLUSION

1. Many physical activities were carried out at each of the parks. The design of each park were found to influence the type of activity and extent of physical activity. 2. Proximity of the parks from home strongly motivated people to use the parks, particularly at the mature and middle age parks. 3. Restorative outcomes were high for the many who go to parks by themselves, as well as with friends and family. Greenery and tranquil areas in parks contributed to this restorative condition. 4. Extensive connectivity to nearby parks and the park connector system can draw park users from further districts to a park. 5. Moderate levels of social value were found in parks. Yet, there could be more opportunities to create informal and formal meeting places.

THANKTHANK YOU YOU

DR CHRISTINE VOGT [email protected]

CYBIL KHO [email protected]

Check out our Research Technical Notes on our CUGE Website