Designing an urban park?

Assalamualaikum and Greetings,

Today, I would like to give simple guidelines (theoretically) for those who have an intention to design an urban park. All guidelines are based on my current reviews and the 2nd proposal for design thesis (2012) entitled  “Discovery Green of BioDcity@Meru Raya”. im very interested with this proposal but it was rejected bu my lecturers. I will post chapter by chapter (lit. review, concept and ideas) according to my proposal through several updates or entries.Tqvm

Urban Park: An Introduction and The Needs

An urban park, is also known as a municipal park in North America or a public park, public open space or municipal gardens in United Kingdom, is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green space to residents of, and visitors to, the municipality. The design, operation and maintenance of urban park is usually done by government, typically on the local level, but may occasionally be contracted out to a private sector company. The development of urban park will carried out the vision of: (Urban Park Guideline - online )

o visual and physical access to parks that enhance mental, physical and spiritual health,

o green gathering spaces to improve social connections and relieve stress

o outdoor recreational opportunities to improve physical health

o low impact development and environmentally sensitive design to improve health of the land,

o interesting and aesthetic design to create a sense of “place”,

o well maintained and safe spaces to encourage community interaction, and

o educational opportunities to provide information on health benefits of parks

The relation between urban parks and city sustainability is usually addressed through the investigation of the value of urban nature as provider of social services essential to the quality of human life. Aspects such as “amount of public green spaces per inhabitant”, “public parks” and “recreation areas” are often mentioned as important factors to make the city livable, pleasant and attractive for its citizens. It is strongly believed that developing more sustainable cities is not just about improving the abiotic and biotic aspects of urban life, it is also about the social aspects of city life, that is—among others—about people’s satisfaction, experiences and perceptions of the quality of their everyday environments.

People’s motives to visit natural areas and the various activities they carry out reflect the demands people place on natural areas, and the needs they expect to be fulfilled. A study by Anna Chiesura for people’s motives for visiting nature (park) in urban area can help decision makers to formulate strategies in tune with public needs and expectations. Most of the urban people are comes to parks to relax, be in nature and escape from city. In urban contexts the need to relax and step away from the hectic rhythm of the city is particularly strong. Urban park may constitutes a sort of ‘oasis’ in urban city, where silent and calm atmosphere of natural environment would make someone can forget the daily worries, breathe fresh air and relax physically, mentally and spirituality.

Urban park is important in fulfill the important social functions, strengthening family ties and providing safe places for children to play, which are increasingly scarce in modern cities. The benefits deriving from these functions accrue to both parents and children. As people comes to bring their children to play, and meeting people.


to be cont..