The Benefits of Community Parks: An Analysis of Health and Culture

The Benefits of Community Parks: An Analysis of Health and Culture

Since the end of the Second World War, communities have been built around the vehicle and the highway system. This has exacerbated the pandemic of urban sprawl. Due to the reliance on automobiles, people now have less activity in their lives, causing them to become overweight.
Moreover, the reliance on vehicles has increased air pollution and destroyed the natural environment by paving over farmland and natural spaces. As a further result, there is no vegetation to absorb the toxic fumes.

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Figure 1: A deserted park with no kids playing on the structures.
The way to combat all of these problems is to build and redesign parks so that they appeal to the general population. The ways in which parks will combat the problems outlined above will be covered in the following sections. Moreover, the ways in which parks can change today’s industrialized and mechanized urban centres will be presented by highlighting the benefits of integrated natural spaces. Ultimately, successful parks promote healthier lifestyles, reduce urban pollution, and maximize the inter-connectivity of the city.
Healthy Lifestyles=Outdoor Activity
One of the benefits that comes from the addition of open space is that it promotes activity and, in part, weight loss. Weight gain is a pandemic that is flagging lots of communities and neighborhoods worldwide. Canada and USA are two of world leaders in obesity; a way to combat this problem is to build parks and open spaces to allow for people to enjoy the outdoors. With people enjoying the outdoors, they will begin to lose weight and feel better about themselves, raising their self-esteem in theprocess.
Children have it the hardest when it comes to physical activity. Due to the decreased numbers of parks, children are suffering from a sedentary lifestyle observable in palliative care patients. As hyperbolic as that might sound, children are in need of parks more than adults because, in essence, children are biologically oriented to want to burn calories and get exercise. Playing in a park with friends allows for them to burn calories and fat without being conscious of the exercise component of play. Adults will also be more open to activity if provided the infrastructure—walking on trails, taking in the scenery—instead of going to gym where they also have to pay a sizable amount of money to get exercise. A study in that was conducted in the USA “showed that the proximity of the park areas to homes—such as spaces that included nature trails and bicycle paths—was associated with higher levels of physical activities among young children” (Association, 2011, p.29).

Figure 2: A child breaking a scale because he is too heavy for the scale to support.
Because of the lack of parks in the areas where young children are located, these children prefer to stay inside and play video games. Children do not see the outdoors as something that has to be maintained or taken care of; they see it as a piece of land that they can play on. Cars and trucks do not allow such play to happen; however, due to the paving of roads, parks have become an afterthought for cities and communities because they do not provide any income andthey take up space that could be used for other buildings or for other purposes. This is why more city dwellers are getting less exercise. A further US study explains that “49% of boys aged 6-11 meet [the level of sixty minutes of vigorous activity 5 days out of the week], but by age 12-15 only 13% report adequate levels of physical activity” (Perry K., Saelens E., &Thompson, 2010, p.389).
Adults, however, do have a choice and need more motivation to exercise and become healthy. Driving a car to work and back (commuting long distances) is a very mentally taxing activity; it leaves very little energy that the person can then use to exercise. By building parks and paths, adults would be able to get exercise by walking or biking the trails to work. Walking on the trails would also allow them to appreciate nature. Studies done in the USA have shown that “having trails close to where people live is associated with higher levels of trail use among adults” (Association, 2011, p. 29), promoting more physical activities. Adults then become healthier and push their children to get outside and also have fun because the adults now understand how important it is for the child to be active outdoors.

Figure 3: An overweight couple exercising by walking on the trails.
Placing parks in neighborhoods—where the age demographic is very low and where young couples live with children of their own—would reduce weight problems in children. They would begin life by having a decent understanding that by playing in the park they are bettering their health. Having those children grow up healthy and happy by playing outdoors, when they have children of their own, will also be able to instil the other spinoff benefits of natural environments. The cycle will then continue, and a new generation of individuals will pass these lessons on to their children.
However, parks will not cure the millions of people who are classified as overweight. Yet parks could allow for people to begin in the right direction in eating and exercising regularly and becoming healthy on their own.
Greener Spaces = Less Pollution
Due to the increase in cars and the conv………………………………….

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