Public Green Space Use across the Housing Spectrum

Joseph Harvey, Public Green Space Use across the Housing Spectrum Winner – UNSW Sydney VYT local competition (2022) Joe Harvey’s research is supported by an Australian Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship, an Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) Top Up Scholarship and a Lindsay Robertson Memorial Scholarship (Bachelor of Landscape Architecture - UNSW). Joe would like to thank the unwavering support of his supervisors Professor Susan Thompson and Emeritus Professor Linda Corkery. Transcript: As our cities grow, our residences are becoming denser, with many families living in high rise apartments with limited access to private green space. Connection to nature is a known predictor of improved health, as well as greater care for the environment, but to establish a connection, you need access to quality green space throughout your life. Green space compensation theory presumes residents will make up for a lack of private green space through the use of public green space, but is this really the case? What do you do when all the local parks are still catering for all the same old activities? This qualitative research project examines a case study suburb that provides a mix of families living in high rise apartments as well as single detached dwellings with large backyards, all sharing the same eight local parks. How is their use of the parks different, and do they connect with nature in the same way? Not only will my results assist in the future equitable planning and design of public green space in our growing cities, but it just might also help foster greater care for the health of the planet.