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- Creators: Cloutier, Scott
- Creators: Doig, Stephen
Description
Research has long supported the idea that parks contribute to physical and mental well-being. Evidence has shown that the presence of parks reduces stress, positively impacts health, and can lower the risk of crime in neighborhoods. There have been studies that discuss variables that impact the accessibility and quality of parks in neighborhoods such as ethnicity, income, and gender. More recently, research has delved into the impact of parks on individual's happiness. Findings imply that the desire for happiness may be satisfied by park visitation and provide evidence that suggests the diversity of park activities is a significant contributor to happiness. This study aims to identify how varying park designs contribute to individual happiness. Three hypotheses are presented: 1) frequency of park visits is positively correlated with life satisfaction, 2) park structure impacts efficacy of parks to promote happiness, and 3) adults travel to parks specifically to improve their mood. Hypothesis 1 is used to understand the relationship between park visitation and overall satisfaction, hypothesis 2 aims to identify how the physical structure of the park contributes to personal happiness, and hypothesis 3 provides an understanding for what motivates adults to visit parks. This study's results indicate that there is no significant correlation between frequency of park visits and life satisfaction, nor is there a significant correlation between physical park structure and increased happiness. While an insignificant amount of participants reported traveling to parks specifically to enhance their mood, the majority of participants indicated traveling to the park to participate in an activity that positively affects their happiness. This study can act as a tool for urban planners to get an idea of why people visit parks and which features they use while they're there. This information can provide guidance when deciding what to include in future parks, utilizing their budget in a way that maximizes community use and happiness.
ContributorsTapia, Isabella Andrea (Author) / Cloutier, Scott (Thesis director) / LePine, Marcie (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This report examines the transformation of downtown Phoenix businesses between 2004 and 2013. The main factors at play during that time period are the introduction of Arizona State University to the downtown area, and the construction of Valley Metro Light Rail and the bulk of data was gleaned from US Census and City of Phoenix reports. During the period of the study, downtown Phoenix saw a shift toward more restaurants and arts and away from professional, technical and financial services. Food services jumped from eight to 12 percent of total businesses, while professional services declined from 32 to 29 percent. Certain business sectors were affected by the Recession, while others were seemingly impervious to the economic downturn. Of the sectors that saw the most growth through the period, restaurants were the most highly correlated with growth in ASU enrollment at 0.95 R. Meanwhile, the total number of businesses downtown decreased slightly, representing a negative correlation with ASU. However, the decline was so slight that ASU growth fails to account for the stagnation. Light rail ridership in the downtown area is not, on its own, highly correlated with downtown business growth. Only the Van Buren Junction, which includes both the Central and 1st Avenue stops, shows the same degree of correlation with businesses as ASU enrollment. Growth in ridership at the Van Buren Junction represents the vast majority of light rail growth in the area, and it is almost entirely linked to the spike in ASU enrollment. This suggests that ASU enrollment is a much more significant driver of business transformation than light rail. Neither ASU nor light rail can explain the totality of every shift in the downtown business landscape, but in certain sectors, namely restaurants and the arts, the extremely high correlations suggest a near indisputable connection. Because this system does not allow for the upload of excel, appendixes are available at: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6y9cOb9sqVnMHdzalNOSmxuZFE&usp=sharing
ContributorsArbon, Travis Michael (Author) / Doig, Stephen (Thesis director) / Daugherty, David (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12