Understanding what variables influence park use would assist park providers and policy makers in acquiring, designing, managing, and funding initiatives which encourage or support park use. Previous studies indicate that access to parks (measured by both objective and perceived distances), park appeal in terms of being well-maintained, and effective communication between constituents and park suppliers, relate positively to park use. This study explores the relationships between access, appeal, and communication and park use. Access is operationalized as four objective distances from household to nearest park using both Euclidian and Network measures, and by subjective self-reported measures of ability to access parks on foot or by bicycle. Appeal is concerned with the influence of parks’ perceived level of maintenance and availability of amenities on the probability of park use. Effective communication is operationalized by three variables: perceptions of being well-informed, being included in the planning process, and being able to give feedback to park leaders. These variables and selected demographic data were extracted from an existing data set: the City of College Station Needs Assessment. Findings indicated that a) respondents with access to parks are more likely to use parks, b) level of maintenance and available amenities influenced use, and c) respondents who are well-informed are more likely to use parks.

Urbana grönområden blir allt viktigare i det moderna samhället, inte enbart till följd av de hälsofrämjande effekter grönområden visat sig ha, utan även för sociala ändamål. Parker anses därför vara de bäst lämpade platserna för möten mellan människor med olika bakgrund och referensramar och utgör därför en viktig komponent i strävan mot ett minskat främlingskap i världens städer. Urbana parker har historiskt sett gått från att vara en plattform för eliten att visa upp sig till att bli en gemensam mötesplats för alla. Trots att parken framställs som en öppen och välkomnande plats hävdas det att användarna fortfarande utgör en homogen grupp vilket i sin tur omintetgör potentialen att främja social interaktion mellan olika samhällsgrupper. I detta examensarbete har en del av Gävles stadspark, Stadsträdgården, undersökts med avsikt att studera och kartera dess användning, användare och utbud. De metoder som har tillämpats är en enkätstudie samt observationer. Under observationerna har momenten frekvensräkning, mapping, ett kvalitativt experiment och en inventering av parkens befintliga utbud genomförts. I parken återfinns en varierad sammansättning av besökare av varierande ålder, kön och etnicitet. Del av Stadsträdgården är zonindelad utifrån användning och användare och tiden är en avgörande dimension som styr förekomsten av mänskliga möten. Social interaktion sker i mycket liten utsträckning mellan främlingar, och om det äger rum krävs en tredje komponent, exempelvis en händelse eller ett fysiskt objekt som påkallar ett gemensamt intresse. Parken saknar enligt besökarna ett flertal kvaliteter i det befintliga utbudet. I dagsläget är det oklart om någon form av medborgardialog sker vid planering av befintliga parker i Gävle. / Urban green-spaces are considered to be more important today than ever before. Parks arenot only beneficial for their positive effects on human health, but also for their social aspects. Parks are consequently considered to be the most suitable environment for encounters between people with different backgrounds and interests. Urban parks have developed from a place where the city-eliteexpressedtheir power to the public into a common place for all. Even though the parksareconsidered to be an open and welcoming place,users are considered to represent a homogenous group of people, which in turn, eliminates the potential of social interaction between different social groups. In this thesis a part of the urban park, Stadsträdgården, is investigated with the intention to study and map its use, its users and the existing supply. The methods used in this project are a questionnaire and observations. During the observations elements like counting, mapping, a qualitative experiment and an inventory of the park-attributes have been implemented. In the park, a broad composition of visitors consisting of varied age, gender and ethnicity, can be found. The focus area of this case study is divided into zones through the area of use and the users. In parks, time is an important dimension controlling whether different people will meet or not. Social interaction between strangers occurs in a small amount, and when it does, it depends on a third component, an event or a physical object that calls for a common interest. The parklacksnumerous qualities in the existing supply of the parkaccording to the users. However, it is uncertain towhat extent the public influencesthe planning of existing urban parks in Gävle, and thus if their considerations are ever involved in the planning process.