RESULTS - Park Perceptions

This page presents the results from all the interviews conducted at my
case study parks. Only five of the original six case study parks are
represented in these data. Merino Park turned out to have a unique set of
circumstances; each time Carolina and I went there for the purpose of
conducting interviews, the park was empty. Despite numerous tries, we
realized that intercept interviews would be extremely difficult to come by.
Carolina became interested in the question of why there were never any
people using Merino, and decided to make it the research topic for an independent
school project. She conducted interviews of the people living in the Hartford Project adjacent to the park, to determine what their perceptions of the park were, and consequently why the park might be under-utilized. The results of this inquiry can be found in Merino Park Results.

Another issue that I had to keep in mind when integrating the data, was the differences between my various case studies. Whereas Dexter Training Ground, Donigian Park, Billy Taylor Park, and Sackett St. Park are all located in areas traditionally having higher rates of crime and more neighborhood challenges, Fargnoli Park is located in a very stable, middle-class community. In order to take these differences into account, I have grouped the data into two categories - data representing information from all the parks, Fargnoli Park included, and data representing information from all the parks except Fargnoli.

Percentage of respondents who mentioned crime and safety concerns before the questions on these topics were asked:
Including Fargnoli: 10/68 (15%)
Excluding Fargnoli: 10/56 (18%)

Most common park concern: Trash - mentioned by 32% of respondents.

Perceptions of Safety:

Perceptions of Crime - "Do you know of any criminal activities that occur here?"

Improvement from the past - "Do you feel that this park is better or worse than it used to be?"

Approximately equal percentages of park users stated that they did and didn't know of criminal activities occurring in their park. When including Fargnoli Park, the percent of those who didn't mention crime was greater than the percentage of those who did (53% and 44% respectively). When excluding Fargnoli Park, the percentage of those who didn't feel that crime was happening in the park was less than those who did (45% and 52% respectively). Interestingly, only 15% of interviewees mentioned crime and safety concerns before the questions on these matters were explicitly asked. The most prevalent type of crime people mentioned was nuisance crime - actions like public drinking and rowdy behavior. A few respondents cited drug use, though this was primarily confined to two of the parks (Donigian Park and Billy Taylor Park), and was usually expressed as suspicion rather than statement of fact. In light of the small number of interviewees who felt that their park had a problem with crime and safety concerns, very few suggested ways in which to ameliorate such circumstances. Those who did, believed that an increased police presence would help, and others stated that a concerted neighborhood effort (and a commensurate increase in respect for the park) would have to be accomplished for the situation to improve.

Other results from the interviews revealed that more than 80% of respondents felt that their park was better than it used to be. Furthermore, trash was the most frequently cited park concern, mentioned by 32% of respondents. Other concerns were primarily park-specific, and usually regarded a demand for certain types of facilities, or dissatisfaction with the quality of existing facilities.