Comparing Youth and Adult Preferences for Neighbourhood Parks
22 Pages Posted: 27 Jun 2023
Abstract
Neighbourhood parks perform essential functions for people in an urbanised landscape, providing opportunities for contact with nature and a place for social interactions that can lead to a sense of community identity. Yet, there remains unanswered questions about what types of park settings can afford opportunities for intergenerational activities and interactions across youth and adults, which settings are preferred, and whether the spaces are similar for each group. Using behaviour setting theory and affordance theory as a framework, this study investigated park preferences of youth and adults for engagement in South-East Queensland, Australia. Using a photo-choice tool – a photo selection process with follow up questions – this study involved participants across two age groups: youth aged 9–17 years; and adults 18 years and over. The findings demonstrate that adults strongly prefer pathways for walking in parks, while youth prefer the playgrounds and sports fields for fun activities. Also, photos depicting natural areas with creeks, woodlands and boulders/stepping stones were equally preferred environments by both youth and adults. Therefore, youth and adults prefer similar park scenes, but their preferred activities within those environments are different. This research highlights that pathways designed with natural elements enable opportunities for intergenerational activities.
Keywords: Youth and adults engagement, neighbourhood park, intergenerational activities, preferences, park design
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