The usage of parks : a study of three parks in Uppsala

Sammanfattning: In today’s world urbanisation is an on-going process, cities are growing and becoming denser, and places for recreation gain value. Therefore, urban parks are much appreciated by people living in cities. When the first public parks where planned, their main function was to increase health, hygiene, education and social life. In the middle of 19th century the meaning of public parks to people’s wellbeing gained attention and parks were planned to provide space for lively activities. This paper focuses on parks’ activities. The main aim is to investigate and discuss the connection between the park’s design and its usage by studying three parks in Uppsala and observing their visitors. The three chosen parks are Stadsträdgården (City park), Engelska parken (English park) and Botaniska trädgården (Botanical garden). Eight different categories of activities were distinguished during the studies: Meeting, resting, transportation, play, sport, culture, café and knowledge. The more diverse a park is in its character and structure, the more different activities are initiated. Although public parks attract more different groups of visitors when having diversity in usage, the most important activities are meeting and resting. These can include active or passiv recreation, which means the possibilities for meeting and resting should be diverse, too.