UNDERUTILISATION OF URBAN PARKS: INVESTIGATING ITS PRESENCE AND SOLUTIONS

Abstract

Urban parks play an important role in building a sustainable city as they serve social, economic, and environmental purposes. Parks together with nature reserves and park connectors enhance our urban environment and contribute to make Singapore a better city to work, live and play in. This dissertation aims to study the presence of underutilised parks as Singapore is a land scarce and highly urbanised country, thus knowledge of underutilised public spaces can help to reduce wastage and maximise the potential of spaces. Furthermore, the definition of underutilisation can vary among professionals and organisations, and most often underutilised public spaces do not have a clear standardised classification system. The success of a park should not just be measured in numbers, there will be a need to look at the park size and it intended purpose. Parks in Singapore are classified with different focuses in mind, ranging from nature reserve parks to community, coastal and arts and heritage, and riverine parks. Through studying both successful and unsuccessful parks, it helps to understand what the reasons behind the underutilisation of those spaces, and to also find out what were the measures taken to improve park usage in the case studies. A well-developed understanding of the underutilisation of urban parks can establish guidelines which aid urban planners and related agencies in making better planning and management decisions, and provide new insights for further studies.