Parke as ruimtelike, sosiaal-ekologiese bate in die Bellville Munisipale gebied

[摘要] The pressure of urbanisation causes an increasing decline in public open space. The intrinsicpotential of a system of public open spaces to create a city where inhabitants' living, working andrecreational environments are enhanced is often undervalued. Irrespective of the pressure ofurbanisation and the amount of land currently being earmarked for open spaces, there is agrowing need for more open spaces in the urban areas of South Africa. It is important to gaugethe scope of open spaces in order to monitor their development.This thesis investigates the usefulness of parks in the Bellville municipal area to its inhabitants.This study identified existing parks in Bellville. Open spaces in Bellville make up 15,3% of the totalarea and since 1996 1,1% of the open space in Bellville has been lost to development. Parks aredistributed unevenly throughout the municipal area with the eastern area having the bulk of theopen space area percentage and the southern area the smallest proportion.As a result of field studies conducted in Bellville, conforming to guidelines specified by a precedingliterature study, a classification system was developed on the basis of area, function and the levelof upkeep. Four park types were identified by the classification process, namely neighbourhood,ecological, aesthetical and recreational parks. Following the classification of open spaces the studyfocuses on the neighbourhood park to gauge the needs of and utilisation by inhabitants. Theneighbourhood park was selected as study focus owing to the heterogeneous appearance of thispark type and because it is the most common type found (84,5% of all parks) in Bellville. Subclassificationinto eight subclasses guarantees homogeneous park classes. The presence ofrecreational structures forms the basis for the classification of neighbourhood parks. Upkeep ofneighbourhood parks occurs frequently and approximately 60% of the neighbourhood parks haverecreational structures. A stratified random sample selected one park out of each of the eightsubclasses for case study. In each case study a simple random sample of park users was made.The population is defined as all households in a 300m radius of the park. Questionnaires weredistributed to the selected households.Irrespective of their busy schedules during the week, the inhabitants still have ample free timeover weekends. Free time is generally spent at home though a significant percentage ofinhabitants take excursions to enjoy walks in nature. Children and pensioners most frequentlymake use of parks. Parks are generally visited on a weekly basis. Neighbourhood parks are visitedover weekends for walks and for use as playgrounds. Most of the inhabitants are satisfied with theappearance of the neighbourhood parks, though they feel security at the parks is insufficient andparks are inadequate for the playing needs of children. Awareness of parks forms an integral part in park use. Being unaware of parks or having to travelfar have a significant effect on non-usage of parks. In order to encourage park use it is essentialto create multifunctional parks catering to the inhabitants' varying needs and utilisation of parks.Single functional parks can be transformed into multifunctional parks by adding additionalattractions thereby addressing inhabitants' needs and extending the existing function of the park.Effective management of parks is essential in preserving them as continuing assets in the Bellvillemunicipal area.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University