Citizen Participation in the Design and Evaluation of a Park

Abstract

A survey conducted at the initiation of a parks and recreation department indicated strong satisfaction with a year-old downtown vest-pocket park. The problems noted were few: Traffic flow was the biggest, safety turne out to be of little importance, and planned activities were a source of conflicting feelings. The satisfactions were many: The strongest was simply having a bit of nature in the downtown area. The positive feelings toward the park and the fact that people had a sense of ownership toward it suggest this to be a resource that can enhance people's sense of involvement with their communities.