Attitudes of Citizens towards Urban Parks and Green Spaces for Urban Sustainability: The Case of Gyeongsan City, Republic of Korea

Sustainability 2015, 7(7), 8240-8254; doi:10.3390/su7078240

Author 

Young-Chang Lee ¹

 and Keun-Ho Kim ^2,* 

¹

Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, Korea

²

Department of Forest Resources and Landscape Architecture, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehakro, Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 712-749, Korea

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. 

Academic Editor: Vincenzo Torretta

Received: 31 March 2015 / Revised: 17 June 2015 / Accepted: 18 June 2015 / Published: 25 June 2015

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Resources)

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Abstract 

Urban parks and green spaces support a wide array of species and play an important role in long-term sustainability. This study analyzed the needs and attitudes of citizens towards urban parks and green spaces in order to provide information for setting the future direction of urban sustainability to maximize quality of life. A questionnaire survey was conducted to analyze the general characteristics of respondents and their awareness of parks and spaces. First, the results indicate that the main purpose of visiting parks was relaxation and walking. Second, the type of parks visited most frequently by the respondents was pocket parks around home. Third, the main reason for going to the frequently visited parks was “close to home”. Fourth, the major reason for visiting parks infrequently was “improper park management”. Fifth, the desired types of urban parks were relaxation parks close to natural rivers. Sixth, citizens wanted to participate in the expansion projects of parks and green spaces through non-profit civic organizations or volunteer activities. Further research with a comparative analysis among different cities will be necessary to generalize Korean attitudes to urban parks and green spaces for urban sustainability. View Full-Text

Keywords: ecosystem services;  green infrastructure;  pocket parks;  quality of life;  urban green spaces

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