The effects of park improvement on park use and park-based physical activity
Abstract
Park is considered as one of the necessary settings in the urban area to promote physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. It provides opportunities to engage in park-based physical activity to a wide range of users. Studies have found that park improvement is a sustainable way to increase the urban population’s physical activity levels. This study explores the effects of park improvement on park use and park-base physical activity using Benjakitti Park, one of the major district parks in Bangkok, Thailand, as the case study. The park improvement was designed and constructed from October 2016 – January 2017. A System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) observations were used to observe the changes in park use and park-based physical activity before and after the park improvement. It was found that park improvement changed users’ characteristics and the patterns of park use and park-based physical activity. The park improvement was associated with an increasing number of children and elderly visitors and a 4.1% and 17.6% increase in cycling and running. The project shows that even a tiny improvement in the built environment can change people’s attitude and behaviour towards physical activity and a healthy lifestyle.
Keyword : public park, physical activity, urban landscape, urban health, SOPARC, landscape architecture
How to Cite
Arifwidodo, S. D., & Chandrasiri, O. (2021). The effects of park improvement on park use and park-based physical activity. Journal of Architecture and Urbanism, 45(1), 73-79. https://doi.org/10.3846/jau.2021.11845
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Veitch, J., Salmon, J., Crawford, D., Abbott, G., Giles-Corti, B., Carver, A., & Timperio, A. (2018). The REVAMP natural experiment study: The impact of a play-scape installation on park visitation and park-based physical activity. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 15(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-017-0625-5
Arifwidodo, S. D. (2020). Park Matters! Mainstreaming physical activity in landscape architecture design (1st ed.). Kasetsart University.
Arifwidodo, S. D., & Chandrasiri, O. (2020a). Association between park characteristics and park-based physical activity using systematic observation: insights from Bangkok, Thailand. Sustainability, 12(6), 2559.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062559
Arifwidodo, S. D., & Chandrasiri, O. (2020b). Urban heat stress and human health in Bangkok, Thailand. Environmental Research, 185, 109398.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109398
Arifwidodo, S. D., Ratanawichit, P., & Chandrasiri, O. (2021). Understanding the implications of urban heat island effects on household energy consumption and public health in Southeast Asian cities: evidence from Thailand and Indonesia. In Advances in 21st century human settlements (pp. 33–42). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5608-1_3
Bai, H., Stanis, S. A. W., Kaczynski, A. T., & Besenyi, G. M. (2013). Perceptions of neighborhood park quality: Associations with physical activity and body mass index. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 45(Suppl. 1), S39–S48.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-012-9448-4
Chandrasiri, O., & Arifwidodo, S. (2017). Inequality in active public park: a case study of Benjakitti Park in Bangkok, Thailand. Procedia Engineering, 198, 193–199.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.07.083
Cohen, D. A., Han, B., Isacoff, J., Shulaker, B., Williamson, S., Marsh, T., McKenzie, T. L., Weir, M., & Bhatia, R. (2015). Impact of park renovations on park use and park-based physical activity. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 12(2), 289–295. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2013-0165
Cohen, D. A., Han, B., Williamson, S., Nagel, C., McKenzie, T. L., Evenson, K. R., & Harnik, P. (2020). Playground features and physical activity in U.S. neighborhood parks. Preventive Medicine, 131, 105945.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.105945
Cohen, D. A., Marsh, T., Williamson, S., Golinelli, D., & McKenzie, T. L. (2012). Impact and cost-effectiveness of family Fitness Zones: A natural experiment in urban public parks. Health & Place, 18(1), 39–45. "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2011.09.008
Duncan, M. J., Bell, T., & Austin, G. (2021). The effect of local neighbourhood park redevelopments on park visitations and user physical activity levels: a pe–post test evaluation. Journal of Public Health.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01451-4
Evenson, K. R., Jones, S. A., Holliday, K. M., Cohen, D. A., & McKenzie, T. L. (2016). Park characteristics, use, and physical activity: A review of studies using SOPARC (System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities). Preventive Medicine, 86, 153–166.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.02.029
Francis, J., Wood, L. J., Knuiman, M., & Giles-Corti, B. (2012). Quality or quantity? Exploring the relationship between Public Open Space attributes and mental health in Perth, Western Australia. Social Science & Medicine, 74(10), 1570–1577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.01.032
Google. (2020). Benjakitti Park. https://www.google.ca/maps/@13.7299691,100.5556311,17z
Han, B., Cohen, D., & McKenzie, T. L. (2013). Quantifying the contribution of neighborhood parks to physical activity. Preventive Medicine, 57(5), 483–487.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.06.021
Kaczynski, A. T., Potwarka, L. R., & Saelens, B. E. (2008). Association of park size, distance, and features with physical activity in neighborhood parks. American Journal of Public Health, 98(8), 1451–1456. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2007.129064
Lindberg, M., & Schipperijn, J. (2015). Active use of urban park facilities – Expectations versus reality. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 14(4), 909–918.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2015.08.007
McKenzie, T. L., Cohen, D. A., Sehgal, A., Williamson, S., & Golinelli, D. (2006). System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC): reliability and feasibility measures. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 3(Suppl. 1), S208–S222. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.3.s1.s208
Rigolon, A. (2016). A complex landscape of inequity in access to urban parks: A literature review. Landscape and Urban Planning, 153, 160–169.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.05.017
Schipperijn, J., Bentsen, P., Troelsen, J., Toftager, M., & Stigsdotter, U. K. (2013). Associations between physical activity and characteristics of urban green space. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 12(1), 109–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2012.12.002
Schultz, C. L., Wilhelm Stanis, S. A., Sayers, S. P., Thombs, L. A., & Thomas, I. M. (2017). A longitudinal examination of improved access on park use and physical activity in a lowincome and majority African American neighborhood park.
Preventive Medicine, 95, S95–S100.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.08.036
Topothai, T., Chandrasiri, O., Liangruenrom, N., & Tangcharoensathien, V. (2016). Renewing commitments to physical activity targets in Thailand. The Lancet, 388(10051), 1258–1260. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30929-1
Tu, H., Liao, X., Schuller, K., Cook, A., Fan, S., Lan, G., Lu, Y., Yuan, Z., Moore, J. B., & Maddock, J. E. (2015). Insights from an observational assessment of park-based physical activity in Nanchang, China. Preventine Medicine Reports, 2, 930–934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2015.08.022
Veitch, J., Rodwell, L., Abbott, G., Carver, A., Flowers, E., & Crawford, D. (2021). Are park availability and satisfaction with neighbourhood parks associated with physical activity and time spent outdoors? BMC Public Health, 21(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10339-1
Veitch, J., Salmon, J., Carver, A., Crawford, D., Giles-Corti, B., & Timperio, A. (2014). REVAMP: A natural experiment to examine the impact of park renewal on park-use and park-based physical activity. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 18, e146–e147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2014.11.154
Veitch, J., Salmon, J., Crawford, D., Abbott, G., Giles-Corti, B., Carver, A., & Timperio, A. (2018). The REVAMP natural experiment study: The impact of a play-scape installation on park visitation and park-based physical activity. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 15(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-017-0625-5