Full metadata
Title
Does context matter?: understanding the urban design requirements of successful neighborhood parks
Description
Literature on the design and management of urban parks has been informed by empirical research on the value of public space in terms of economic value, public health, social, and environmental benefits. Although there is significant value in discussing these benefits, there has been a lack of understanding about the production of public space as a normative goal. Neighborhood parks have been recognized as one of the key urban public spaces that serve the social, economic, and environmental needs of adjacent neighborhoods. However, relevant studies mostly focus on the contribution of neighborhood parks as discrete space, instead of neighborhood parks as built spaces within the urban context. This research provides a better understanding of the relationship between the context of surrounding neighborhoods and the success of neighborhood parks. The research addresses two major research questions. First, what are the major characteristics of the morphological context around neighborhood parks? Second, how do the characteristics of morphological context associate with the success of neighborhood parks? For the first question, the `context' refers to the layout and configuration of urban form including blocks, parcels, and buildings; street network; pedestrian-oriented attributes; and property land uses. For the second question, the `success' of neighborhood parks is defined by property/ violent crime rate. The study is based on a quarter mile buffer area around 150 neighborhood parks in the City of Chicago, Illinois. The research employed factor and cluster analysis to develop a typology of neighborhood park contexts. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify the relationship between park morphological contexts and crime rate. Based on understanding the dimensional structure of urban form elements, neighborhood park surroundings were classified into six categories. This study provided an alternative way of constructing public space typology based on surrounding urban form. The findings of regression analysis revealed that variables associated with higher-density, permeability, and mixed-use development do not necessarily correlate with reduced property/ violent crime rates. However, some variables representing `traditional neighborhood' characteristics were correlated with lower property/ violent crime rates. The study provides guidelines for urban design and physical planning strategies for neighborhood park development.
Date Created
2013
Contributors
- Lee, Sungduck (Author)
- Talen, Emily (Thesis advisor)
- Crewe, Katherine (Committee member)
- Petrucci, Darren (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Topical Subject
Resource Type
Extent
x, 124 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.)
Language
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Primary Member of
Peer-reviewed
No
Open Access
No
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.17964
Statement of Responsibility
by Sungduck Lee
Description Source
Viewed on Mar. 16, 2015
Level of coding
full
Note
Partial requirement for: Ph. D., Arizona State University, 2013
Note type
thesis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-118)
Note type
bibliography
Field of study: Environmental design and planning
System Created
- 2013-07-12 06:25:17
System Modified
- 2021-08-30 01:41:18
- 2 years 8 months ago
Additional Formats