Patterns of use in an urban natural park setting

Abstract

The variables associated with park use in an urban natural environment were examined in two studies, with a focus on (a) the effects of age, gender, and group size on activity; and (b) the effects of these demographic variables and activity on intended park destinations. The first study surveyed 150 patrons of Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 75 males and 75 female park patrons participated. The results of Study 1 were limited, but a factor analysis yielded 5 environment types (edges, roads, paths, historical sites, and miscellaneous sites) that were used in some of the analyses of Study 2. The second study explored the same effects as Study 1, but utilized naturalistic observations of over 5000 park patrons in Point Pleasant Park. The observational data supported some of the expected effects for the demographic variables as predictors of activity. As expected, edge environments were most generally preferred, but there was also support for the effects of the demographic variables on environment preference such that there was a curvilinear relationship between age and presence in edge environments. The results are discussed in terms of the extent to which the park is utilized and by whom.