Patterns of Urban Park Use and Their Relationship to Factors of Quality: A Case Study of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Urban parks play an important role in increasing the quality of urban life. Thus, a variety of approaches to planning and decision-making regarding sustainable open spaces and urban parks is needed, especially when models from one location are borrowed to another with a very different culture. In many developing countries cities are expanding without proper planning of public green spaces which places pressure on the quality of life. In common with many Middle Eastern cities, Tehran, the capital of Iran is a large sprawling metropolis which has experienced fast growth since 1970 and with little in the way of comprehensive planning of green spaces as an organised system. To date there has been no comprehensive investigation of urban parks regarding their level of use, range of activities, quality of maintenance, evidence of anti-social activities or the demographic character of their catchment-important information for effective park planning. In this study a representative sample of 16 parks in Tehran was studied using a combination of site assessments and user observations. We found that a combination of factors concerning the quality of the parks such as presence of facilities, existence of water and other special attractions, as well as how well-lit they are, how well maintained and safe they are, has a lot to do with their level of use. Some pleasant parks with good facilities are less well used because of, e.g., evidence of anti-social behaviour, poor maintenance and accessibility. A key aspect we found is the difference between male and female users, with some parks being much less-well-used by women. Much more attention is needed for planning and management of parks in Tehran. The approach applied here has potential to help other cities in similar areas to learn more about their green space systems for planning purposes.Sustainability 2020, 12, 1560 2 of 33 diseases from insufficient physical activity continue to increase [15]. One of the motivations for people to use urban parks, especially in dense and crowded cities, is to find a relatively calm and peaceful environment, especially at holiday times and weekends [16,17]. Negative Effect of Urban Parks (Crime and Safety)Set against all the positive aspects are a number of negative factors which may be found, depending on the location and context of a particular park. The feeling of safety-or insecurity-plays a significant role in the use of public parks and those with a reputation as dangerous places (perhaps at certain times of the day) can have a negative effect on visitors' perceptions in which perceived risks from crime and the presence of vandalism and anti-social behaviour are seen as a threat affecting use-especially among women [18][19][20]. Fear of crime has become an important issue in cities in recent years, so there should be a focus of improving personal safety through well-considered planning, design, and management of urban parks and other public open spaces [21]. As Sutton and Farrall [22] showed, gender affects perception of safety and i...

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Traditional versus Modern? Perceptions and Preferences of Urban Park Users in Iran

“…Urban parks in cities in many developing countries face enormous pressures due to urban sprawl and increasing populations [9]. Tehran, the capital of Iran, suffers from many social and environmental problems and it is not alone among Iranian cities in this respect.…”

“…Research into preferences for factors affecting park use has been conducted in numerous studies using different methods and has found that aspects such as users' perceptions of security in urban parks [9,32,33] the provision of park facilities [34,35] as well as accessibility [36] are some of the main predictors of satisfaction. Therefore, improved knowledge about different user groups, their cultural situation and needs in interaction with the environment can help improve the function and as a result, parks' environmental balance, stability and sustainability and to make lively spaces with sufficient security [37,38].…”