How Urban Parks Offer Opportunities for Physical Activity in Dublin, Ireland
Parks are an important part of the urban fabric of cities. They offer people the opportunity to connect with nature, engage in physical activity, find a haven away from the city noise, or spend time alone or with family and friends. This study examines the relative importance of park and park visit...
Main Authors: | , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2018-04-01
|
Series: | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/4/815 |
id |
doaj-4ea7febe59584964b9576fa6c1b88309 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-4ea7febe59584964b9576fa6c1b883092020-11-24T22:24:05ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1660-46012018-04-0115481510.3390/ijerph15040815ijerph15040815How Urban Parks Offer Opportunities for Physical Activity in Dublin, IrelandEve Burrows0Margaret O’Mahony1Dermot Geraghty2Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin 2, IrelandTrinity Centre for Transport Research, Department of Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin 2, IrelandDepartment of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin 2, IrelandParks are an important part of the urban fabric of cities. They offer people the opportunity to connect with nature, engage in physical activity, find a haven away from the city noise, or spend time alone or with family and friends. This study examines the relative importance of park and park visit characteristics for 865 survey participants in Dublin, Ireland. The data is analyzed using a multinomial logistic regression model which can distinguish the relative importance of attributes. The model results demonstrate an improvement over proportional by chance accuracy, indicating that the model is useful. The results suggest that when and why individuals go to the park along with the proximity of their residence to the park influence visit frequency more than their age and gender and more than their impression of the sound levels in the park. The contribution of the results, in terms of their potential usefulness to planners, suggest that the priority should be on the provision of park space close to residential areas, so that individuals can engage in activities such as walking and relaxation, and that the quality of that space, in the context of noise levels at least, is less important.http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/4/815parksvisit frequencyphysical activity |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Eve Burrows Margaret O’Mahony Dermot Geraghty |
spellingShingle |
Eve Burrows Margaret O’Mahony Dermot Geraghty How Urban Parks Offer Opportunities for Physical Activity in Dublin, Ireland International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health parks visit frequency physical activity |
author_facet |
Eve Burrows Margaret O’Mahony Dermot Geraghty |
author_sort |
Eve Burrows |
title |
How Urban Parks Offer Opportunities for Physical Activity in Dublin, Ireland |
title_short |
How Urban Parks Offer Opportunities for Physical Activity in Dublin, Ireland |
title_full |
How Urban Parks Offer Opportunities for Physical Activity in Dublin, Ireland |
title_fullStr |
How Urban Parks Offer Opportunities for Physical Activity in Dublin, Ireland |
title_full_unstemmed |
How Urban Parks Offer Opportunities for Physical Activity in Dublin, Ireland |
title_sort |
how urban parks offer opportunities for physical activity in dublin, ireland |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2018-04-01 |
description |
Parks are an important part of the urban fabric of cities. They offer people the opportunity to connect with nature, engage in physical activity, find a haven away from the city noise, or spend time alone or with family and friends. This study examines the relative importance of park and park visit characteristics for 865 survey participants in Dublin, Ireland. The data is analyzed using a multinomial logistic regression model which can distinguish the relative importance of attributes. The model results demonstrate an improvement over proportional by chance accuracy, indicating that the model is useful. The results suggest that when and why individuals go to the park along with the proximity of their residence to the park influence visit frequency more than their age and gender and more than their impression of the sound levels in the park. The contribution of the results, in terms of their potential usefulness to planners, suggest that the priority should be on the provision of park space close to residential areas, so that individuals can engage in activities such as walking and relaxation, and that the quality of that space, in the context of noise levels at least, is less important. |
topic |
parks visit frequency physical activity |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/4/815 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT eveburrows howurbanparksofferopportunitiesforphysicalactivityindublinireland AT margaretomahony howurbanparksofferopportunitiesforphysicalactivityindublinireland AT dermotgeraghty howurbanparksofferopportunitiesforphysicalactivityindublinireland |
_version_ |
1725762338800271360 |