eprintid: 3935
rev_number: 4
eprint_status: archive
userid: 1
dir: disk0/00/00/39/35
datestamp: 2022-07-29 11:42:39
lastmod: 2022-07-29 11:42:39
status_changed: 2022-07-29 11:42:39
type: thesis
metadata_visibility: show
sword_depositor: 1
creators_name: Kaźmierczak, Oskar
creators_id: S4113454
creators_email: kazmierczak.oskar@gmail.com
title: May I park here, or what is it we imagine a park to be? Investigating the perception of urban parks among Polish local government officials
ispublished: unpub
full_text_status: public
abstract: Urban parks have historically served as a means of mitigating and responding to social
issues at a place and time. To this day, parks remain a tool used by local governments to
deliver benefits to communities and improve citizens’ quality of life. However, for local
governments to continue providing and maintaining parks, their functionality and benefits
must be positively viewed. Despite the importance of officials’ perceptions of parks, few
studies have investigated the issue. This thesis identifies this gap and explores the
perceived physical characteristics (what renders a park a park) and conceptual
characteristics of parks (their objectives, benefits and necessity) among local government
officials in four Polish cities: Gdynia, Bydgoszcz, Katowice, and Szczecin. Both primary and
secondary data were collected – primary data through semi-structured interviews with
officials from municipal bodies tasked with planning, designing, or maintaining urban parks
and secondary data in the form of municipal strategies and spatial studies. The former were
analyzed through cognitive mapping and the latter through qualitative coding. The study
finds that parks are viewed as a green space with a combination of tall and short greenery,
amenities and infrastructure. Their area may vary greatly, but they are reported to have a
primarily recreational function. Numerous park benefits are seen to follow from the objectives
of their creation, while others are the result of the physical characteristics of the park. While
largely complementary, parks may be partially replaced by nearby blue-green areas. Current
perceptions largely mirrored the characteristics of the sustainable park model, concerned
with human and ecological health, and integrating into larger green space systems. Newer
solutions are emerging (networks of functionally diverse green areas and informal green
spaces), but it will likely take time for their full implementation.
date: 2022
pages: 35
thesis_type: bachelor
degree_programme: TP
tutors_name: Roo, G. de
tutors_organization: Fac. Ruimtelijke wetenschappen, Basiseenheid Planologie
tutors_email: G.de.Roo@rug.nl
security: public
keywords_local: urban parks
keywords_local: local government officials
keywords_local: perception
language_iso: en
date_issued: 2022-07-29
citation:   Kaźmierczak, Oskar  (2022) May I park here, or what is it we imagine a park to be? Investigating the perception of urban parks among Polish local government officials.  Bachelor thesis.   
document_url: https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/3935/1/BA%20Thesis%20Oskar%20Ka%C5%BAmierczak.pdf