Policymaker and Practitioner Perceptions of Parks for Health and Wellbeing: Scoping a Holistic Approach

Brenda B. Lin (), Susan Thompson, Richard Mitchell, Thomas Astell-Burt, Evelyne De Leeuw, Bin Jalaludin and Xiaoqi Feng
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Brenda B. Lin: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Environment, Brisbane 4001, Australia
Susan Thompson: City Futures Research Centre, Arts Design & Architecture Faculty, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia
Richard Mitchell: MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, School of Health and Wellbeing, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G3 7HR, UK
Thomas Astell-Burt: School of Health and Society, Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong, Wollongong 2522, Australia
Evelyne De Leeuw: Healthy Urban Environments Collaboratory, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia
Bin Jalaludin: School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia
Xiaoqi Feng: Population Wellbeing and Environment Research Lab (PowerLab), Sydney 2000, Australia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-16

Abstract: Urban parks provide a multitude of health benefits for citizens navigating the challenges of 21st-century living. And while this is well known by both scholars and practitioners, there is less understanding about the differential impacts of park size, type of facilities, community accessibility, and management. This is the central concern of the research reported here, which is a part of a larger project titled ‘Better Parks, Healthier for All?’ funded under the UKRI-NHMRC Built Environment and Prevention Research Scheme 2019. Within this broader context, the current paper discusses the results of a focus group to better understand how different park qualities promote physical and mental health. Using a COVID-safe research approach, we brought key park providers, park policymakers, and green and open space designers from New South Wales, Australia, together to participate in an online focus group in May 2021. The recruitment was based on the domain expertise and practitioner knowledge of the issues at hand. The ensuing discussion canvassed three areas of interest: What is park quality? How is park quality associated with health? How can we assess park quality and its ability to deliver health outcomes? A thematic analysis of the group’s deliberations reveals a very holistic appreciation of park quality. The ability of a park network to provide a range of health outcomes is central to this view, with each park playing a role in delivering different benefits across the network. Our findings indicate that there are many opportunities to enhance the myriad of benefits and multiple ways to gain them. Co-design is essential to ensure that parks best suit the local context and provide relevant benefits to all stakeholders. In this way, local communities can gain ownership and enhanced agency in relation to using and enjoying their parks. We conclude that delivering locally networked parks and associated spaces for community health and wellbeing are essential in the broader context of global environmental sustainability.

Keywords: public green space; network; equity; resilience; public health; qualitative research; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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