Urban planning is responsible for the arrangement of environments that we are
living in as well as for the design of urban parks that allow us to escape from
everyday stressors. However, we no longer live in culturally homogenous societies,
and people of different backgrounds seem to have different perspectives on urban
park aesthetics as well as the range of facilities and features that parks should
provide. This study focuses on preferences and perspectives that people of different
cultural backgrounds have of urban parks. This research was based on a single-case
study of a multi-functional park – Waterloo Park, located in Kitchener-Waterloo
(Ontario, Canada), and was focused on investigating urban park preferences of seven
ethnic groups: Caucasian Canadians, East and North Asians, South Asians, Middle-
Eastern, Arabic, African/Caribbean and African/Zimbabwean or Kenyan.
The feedback obtained from face-to-face interviews with Waterloo-Park users have
been analyzed in order to establish how do people of different cultural backgrounds
conceptualize urban parks and what their breadth of needs are when utilizing park
space. Demographic information, such as ethnic association, was obtained from the
participants on a self-descriptive basis. Findings from this study indicates that there
are apparent differences in expectations and needs that culturally diverse users have
regarding urban parks, and provides substantial evidence that culture plays an
influential role in perception and evaluation of urban parks. Recommendations for
professional practice advocate shifting Canadian design practices towards a true
comprehensive and multifunctional park design and incorporating the various
motives and needs of a culturally diverse Canadian society.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:WATERLOO/oai:uwspace.uwaterloo.ca:10012/6268 |
| Date | 16 September 2011 |
| Creators | Sitek, Marta |
| Source Sets | University of Waterloo Electronic Theses Repository |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
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