Methods
The methods used for data collection regarding the three case studies involved personal observation, interviewing park goers, and a survey that consisted of 14 questions. 30 people were surveyed at Washington Park, 30 at Palomares Park, and 12 at Garfield Park. To keep the selection process completely random, all 27 park names were put in a bowl and chosen, which is why Washington, Palomares and Garfield Parks were selected for this study. When the surveys were completed, the information was entered into excel so the pie charts could be created. Collection times took place from April 29, 2017 to June 3, 2017; twice a week, one week day and one weekend day. When addressing accessibility, area, and aesthetics, the various factors were considered:
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Accessibility
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Can the park be accessed in 0.25 miles or less when walking and 2 miles or less when driving.
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Are there parking lots and if so, are they located in different areas of the park.
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Are there bus stops nearby.
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Are there physical boundaries preventing entrance such as a fence enclosing the space.
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Area
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Is size of the park important to people and if so, is a small or large park preferred and why.
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Aesthetics
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​How is perceived safety of park.
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How is overall cleanliness and maintenance of park.
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Are there signs of vandalism such as graffiti, damaged equipment, etc.
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Are there a high number of transients on the premises.
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How is the condition and/or abundance of amenities provided.
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Results
There are many different definitions of what defines a reasonable distance when traveling to a park, but the standard distance stated in various studies is under 3.1 miles when driving (McCormack, Giles-Corti, Bulsara, & Pikora, 2006) and under 0.25 miles when walking (Forsyth, 2000; Lindsey et al., 2001; Nichols, 2001; The Trust for Public Land, 2004; Wolch et al, 2005). All the parks were found to be accessible because people walking, walked only a few blocks and those who drove got there in 2 miles or less. There were a few exceptions who drove more than 2 miles and that was because they were there for a game and don't typically attend those parks. There were no physical barriers and each had a bus stop that drops you off either right in front of the park or at most a few blocks from it. Palomares and Washington Park had parking lots that were scattered throughout the parks which allows for easier accessibility to different areas of the park. Garfield was not accessible for people driving there due to it only having street parking, but it is also located right in the middle of a neighborhood so it serves as a great park for the surrounding community living there.
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Park size was important to the majority of people surveyed. Naturally, most were content with the size of their parks; but felt they should be bigger because there are few parks in the surrounding areas so on busy days they tend to get too packed. This results in less room for their children to play and utilize the amenities provided.
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The number one issue that came up with every single person was the transient problem and restrooms so dirty they felt they could not be used. People claimed to feel unsafe with the state of mind most these transients were in and many reported at Washington Park, situations where questionable people would sit in their car for hours. Although Washington Park has two different restrooms, only one remains open all the time. The other is only opened when there are games going on. The only one that is open is so dirty and heavily used by transients, that they are not recommended to be used. At Palomares Park, the restrooms are located near an area in which a sketchy group of men are always hanging out by. This seemed to be a popular hang out spot because there was always a group of men at that picnic area every time observation took place at that park. Those restrooms don't have doors on the stalls so there is no privacy or sense of safety. At Garfield Park, there were only two times in which surveying was able to take place. This was because all the other times, the only apparent users of the park were drug attics, homeless people, and potential gang affiliates. Most surveying occurred on Memorial Day because the park had been full of families and not very many transients were in sight. After speaking with a person at Washington Park, they stated that Garfield Park is ran by a gang in that area and would not bring their children there. With that being said, it makes sense why most the time the park was only filled with transients. In addition, a camper was parked on the side with people going in and out of it and remained at that location for multiple park visits. That park appeared the most unsafe out of the three. Aside from the transient problem, and uncleanliness of the park and restrooms, the parks offered an adequate amount of amenities that appeared in good proper condition.
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