TRABAJOS PREVIOS

This chapter has provided an overview of the five core themes found in this research. These themes reflect the value and meaning of the parks to the women in this research, and the influential park characteristics and features. Hagley Park and Boulevard Lake are nature rich urban parks that have diverse and multiple values and meanings. Gobster (2001) states that

“urban parks mean many things to many people” (p. 35). In this research, nature rich urban parks mean many things to older women.

4.7.1 Nature rich urban parks mean many things to older women

The relationships between elements of park experience are interrelated and multidirectional.

The multiple meanings of the parks are not isolated or compartmentalized; the mutual

influence and interaction between them is significant. Each theme described in the findings of this research is one aspect of a holistic experience, closely tied to the other themes. The participants portray their park experiences from this holistic perspective, represented in Figure 4.12 by the outer circle.

Figure 4-12: The holistic relationships among park experiences

The themes described in this research reflect the shared, common experiences of the participants, however, the relative value and importance of particular meanings associated with the parks vary, both individually over time and between the participants. The values and meanings associated with the parks develop from a lifetime of experiences, memories,

associations and preferences. Perceptions and meanings are influenced by individual experiences in childhood and throughout life. The significance of particular park values or meanings continues to be responsive to emerging changes and influences in later life. For some participants, the relative importance of the park as a setting for physical activity has diminished, while the value of the park as a venue for social contact, contemplation or contact with nature has increased. For others, the value of the park as a venue that supports physical activity has remained consistent, or has become increasingly important. This research reveals

Social participation

Meaningful leisure

Connecting with the past Manageable

setting Contact with

nature

the heterogeneity of older adults’ subjective and lived experiences and provides support for the importance of representing the experiences of older adults as diverse and varied.

While the relative value and meaning of particular elements of park experience is distinctive to each participant, there are commonalities linked to age and gender that resonate among the women in this research. The values and meanings of nature rich urban parks described in this research are from the perspective of older women. The participants recognize that they perceive and experience the parks through their lens as older women, and share some

common experiences with other older women. Two themes identified in this research appear to be particularly relevant to the experience of older women. Perhaps most notably is the unexpected finding concerned with the value of the parks as enduring settings that provide a connection with the past and an opportunity for place-based reminiscing. The parks appear to gain meaning with age as venues for achieving an important and significant sense of

continuity. The manageability of the environment is a second aspect of park experience that is central to the experience of the older women in this research. The manageability of the setting, and particularly the walkability, provides an incentive for using the parks as

accessible venues that support health through opportunities for physical activity. Safety is a further aspect of environmental manageability that influences park use among the women in this research. While the environmental manageability of the parks is significant to the experience of older women, this aspects of park use is also relevant to other populations not included in this study. While this research suggests that the parks have multiple meanings for older women, the nature rich quality of the parks is a common thread.

4.7.2 The nature rich quality of the parks is a common thread

In this research, contact with nature has a cross cutting influence on all elements of park experience and is a defining feature of park use. Contact with nature is often cited as the primary reason for park use, particularly among women (Curson & Kitts, 2000), and older adults (Cooper Marcus & Francis, 1998). The early pleasure garden parks developed during the last half of the 19^th century were designed to provide a welcoming environment for the elderly and to foster health and well-being through opportunities for contact with nature (Crantz, 2000). Hagley Park, in particular, reflects the design elements of the early pleasure garden parks, although both parks provide ample opportunities for contact with nature.

This research provides further support to the existing literature on the positive influence of contact with nature on health and well-being. The participants portray their park experiences as providing opportunities for optimizing their mental, physical, social, and, for some,

spiritual health and well-being. The nature rich quality of the environment provides an incentive for visiting the parks, and pursuing activities and behaviours that optimize health and well-being. While the nature rich quality of the parks is central to the values and meanings of park experience among the women in this research, other environmental attributes also have a significant influence.

4.7.3 The urban park characteristics have an important influence

While contact with nature is a central aspect of the value and meaning of the parks in this research, the park settings are highly developed cultural landscapes. The participants recognize that the ‘nature’ with which they are engaging is limited in its ‘naturalness’, as defined by the degree of human influence (Clayton & Opotow, 2003). Human influence is reflected in both changes to the physical environment, and the effect of culture on the perceptions and meanings of the parks. Urban parks have been described as “culturally transformed ideals of nature” that incorporate both culture and nature (Pawson & Swaffield, 1998, p. 259). The urban parks in this research are a blending of culture and nature.

Eighteenth century English gardens prompted the development of ‘garden cities’, aimed at incorporating nature into urban areas (Franklin, 2002; Solnit, 2000). This is particularly significant in Christchurch, known as ‘The Garden City’. In Thunder Bay, several participants described a preference for a more ‘natural’ rather than developed landscape, which reflects the cultural value of ‘wilderness’ environments in northern Ontario. The perceptions and values of the parks in this research are influenced by history and culture. The value and meaning of the parks is also determined by their highly managed and developed characteristics.

The participants engage with nature and have the experiences described in this research in an urban park, and not a ‘natural’ or wilderness setting. Parks can provide older women with an ideal venue for contact with nature. The location and design features enhance external and internal accessibility. The women in this research easily access these centrally located parks from their homes throughout the city. The parks remain internally accessible and manageable amid changes to health and mobility. The opportunity for contact with nature is enabled by

the design and maintenance of the parks, including manageable walking paths, amenities, and attention to safety and comfort. It is somewhat paradoxical that, among this group of older women, contact with nature is more easily achieved in urban areas than in more ‘natural’

wilderness environments.

The perceived aesthetic value of ‘nature’ is also enhanced by these highly developed and managed parks. The ‘beauty’ of the park is a result of the extensive resources aimed at creating an aesthetic environment. Appleton (1975) refers to this as an “aesthetically contrived landscape” which has been “altered or devised for the principal purpose of giving aesthetic pleasure” (p. 192). This participant describes her perception of the beauty of the park in contrast to a wilderness environment.

Walking in a forest there are beautiful things but very often it’s the same beautiful things, whereas in the park you’ve got everything, you’ve got the trees, you’ve got the border, you’ve got the flowers (Elisabeth, Hagley Park).

Studies on environmental preference indicate that settings that are viewed most favourably are natural settings with a clear human influence (Kaplan, Kaplan & Ryan, 1998). Some of the participants portray the aesthetic value of the parks as superior to more ‘natural’ settings. The perceived beauty of the setting, determined to some extent by culture, is largely a product of the substantial planning, management and ongoing maintenance of the parks. In addition, these urban park qualities have an important influence on the social environment of the parks.

The centrally located urban parks in this research are accessible and convenient meeting and gathering places. The parks provide the opportunity to engage with others through a shared interest in, and appreciation of, nature. The cultural perception of the parks as friendly social environments reinforces their use as venues for social contact and interaction. The social environment also positively influences safety, and perceptions of safety, important enabling and constraining factors associated with park use among older women. The social culture of the parks is a consequence of both the nature rich qualities and the urban park characteristics.

Chapter 5