Use and experience of neighborhood parks in Singapore

Abstract

The use of nearby open spaces or neighborhood parks has received significant attention from researchers in the West (e.g., Jacobs, 1969; Bangs & Mahler, 1970; Gold, 1972, 1977; Hester, 1984; Hutchison, 1994), but little is known about how people across densely populated Third World cities respond and relate to such spaces within their day-to-day living milieu. This paper explores urban residents' uses and views of neighborhood parks in a densely populated non-western city: Singapore. It reports a study of residents' experiences of nearby open spaces, that provides an understanding of how and why urban residents use open space in their everyday life. Copyright 1996 National Recreation and Park Association.