Challenges to Successful Urban Parks

Urban parks can be significant assets to the communities they serve (see
Park Benefits). Yet to offer such assets, parks must be clean, useable, and safe
If a park becomes degraded, whether by processes of physical deterioration
or the encroachment of crime or a combination of both, it quickly loses it's many
advantages and valuable attributes. If the degradation is serious enough - if the
park becomes an eyesore or is perceived to be dangerous - it can become a
detriment to the neighborhood. At such a point, the park loses the
opportunities and investment it represents.

There are many factors that influence the quality and safety of parks, and in turn drive the perceptions of park users. Perceptions are significant - how people perceive a park will affect their behavior towards it, and this can determine a park's fate. If negative perceptions discourage park use, this lack of use can actually exacerbate any problems the park was having. Without people, a park can become more vulnerable to physical deterioration and illicit activities, and as these conditions worsen, even fewer people will want to use it, driving a vicious cycle of non-use and neglect.

Below is a diagram that shows the various factors that affect park quality and safety (in other words, the challenges that parks face), and how all these factors interconnect and impact each other.

Click on any box to understand how that feature affects park conditions and perceptions.