Journal of Tourism & Hospitality
Open Access
ISSN: 2167-0269
+44 1300 500008
ISSN: 2167-0269
+44 1300 500008
Review Article - (2023)Volume 12, Issue 3
In Ethiopia, it has faced public recreational parks with many development problems. Summarizing outstanding park development practices and experiences, followed by a review of methods. Most municipal authorities are unaware of poor management practices now common to existing parks. Stakeholders also need to have enough knowledge about these practices. There is literature that tries to increase awareness about park management. But it seem there is no academic resource to municipal officials they support. Here, I try to present outstanding practices for increasing park qualities by discussing them. This information is supportive to park administrators and methods to avoid being undeveloped.
Parks; Outstanding; Practices; Development; Management
The review focused on outstanding practice in public parks development and management. The paper aims to increase understanding of some necessary measures to standardize the park. Take up lessons reviewed elsewhere or in Ethiopia. It’s an input for overcoming the problem related to the current development of parks. Because of the parks and their facilities at a lower level across Ethiopian urban centers. The challenge is high to realize health, economic and natural resources preservation potential. An outstanding practice defined as a technique/method gained through experience. That led to the best favorable result. Recreation undertook for mental and physical pleasure. Public parks use either for active and passive recreation [1].
Public parks are accessible, identifiable boundaries, natural aesthetic qualities and public art. These include recreation fields, gardens, squares or plazas and neighborhoods stated public parks and an opportunity for peace and the lungs of cities. This review helps for Ethiopian green legacy initiatives such as “dine for Ethiopia”. The initiative to mobilize funds for the Ethiopian prime minister started that. These are ideal opportunities for contributing ideas to existing park development activities; because much researches much needed on examining green cover. Parks are fundamental in the built environment. It can help to integrate into the planning system. Other studies showed great cities have known for their great parks. This greatness is the city's ability for its citizens' quality of life.
This paper contributes to increasing the Ethiopian authority's knowledge of developing parks. It's also a source of information for decision support ideas in planning. Thus, this paper helps for a better plan and manages parks with people diverse interests.
The method followed in preparing the paper reviewed various sources. The literature materials including articles, plans, proclamations and other related to the topic. About 88, I have reviewed papers in compiling this work. Materials reviewed based on the relevance, content and closer relation of the subject. Most articles lessons in Ethiopia and abroad, particularly in cities in developed countries.
Outstanding practices for the sustainable city park system
Several findings showed that people have created practices to develop parks. Park resources, visitor experiences and park infrastructure and facilities need to integrate. I have found many of these outstanding practices to be successive [2]. Yet, it is important to organize these practices into planning systems. This can show the different development processes and management aims available for planers. The author organizes such outstanding practices into two phases.
• Recreation park outstanding development practice discussing consideration in the park development.
• Recreation park outstanding management practice provides outstanding park management practices and experiences.
Within phase one, development practices arranged into six basic categories. Such as park demarcation, purpose, planning, community involvement, facilities, access, satisfaction and safety. Within phase two, outstanding management practices arranged into five basic categories. Such as landscape standards, site design, visitor information, maintenance and event management [3]. An extensive literature review and relevant examples of empirical research assisted. These outstanding practices supported by other sources of Ethiopia. Keeping this set up in mind will allow the reader to more investigate the paper. The appropriateness of each practice within various recreation management contexts considered.
Recreation park outstanding development practice
Recreation park demarcation: Parks differ in facilities and quality, recreation availability, perceptions of safety among users and size. A park system requires a land base either designed or natural comes in many shapes and sizes. For instance, a big city on average size range from 2.5% to 20% parks, argued about 6% of city land. But vacant and open space public parklands, which may comprise 24% of the city area. Park's size varies depending on its purpose, natural and artificial.
Nowadays human populations are growing, but the area of parks is not keeping pace. Water and land available for conservation are shrinking. Parks themselves are critical. Because of rapid urbanization and land scarcity in Hong Kong. Most parks built close to roads or industries. They are subject to many potential pollution sources, including vehicle industrial emissions. The city's master plan determines the park can keep as public, then approved the process.
The development of quality green space and parks needs awareness, public participation. Preliminary discussions negotiation with interested groups' is also very important. Ethiopian Federal government and respective city administration made the formal authorization parks process. Local greening body’s teams must analyze existing and future needs. Identify and map open space corridors useful for public recreation. Wildlife habitat, trails and significant resource land. At the national, regional, city, sub cities and local level needs detailed policy. Policy and legislation help to identify the park's ownership and area and acceptance and land acquisition. The park demarcation approval and development has given to city council. And responsibility has given to the green infrastructure team/authorities [4].
A clear definition of purpose: A clear mandate, mission and core values/services can save a lot of time and avoid errors. The legislative mandate is a springboard for the foundation statement. The park is one of the fundamental components of the people's well-being. It provides diverse recreational and lifelong educational opportunities. These recreational opportunities have a wide range of recreational pursuits and participation. Stewardship, volunteer, formal, informal, sport/ play, passive and active. It offers core values for a diverse urban population to connect with nature and history. These ensure the quality of life, personal development, play and celebration. The mission of parks enhances the economy, resource preservation and recreational values. We can add Interpreting of outstanding historic and scenic nature.
The government of Ethiopia has issued some supporting guidelines, policies and proclamations. Several policies and proclamations have developed for clean parks and protected areas. That management guide enhances the environment and the life quality of citizens. These include the environmental policy of Ethiopia. These articles affirm the right of citizens to live in a clean and healthy environment. It does also improve the health and quality of life of all Ethiopians. It promotes sustainable social, cultural and environmental resources needs of the present without compromising the future generations. The conservation strategy of Ethiopia (1997) sets out detailed strategies and action plans. The institutional arrangements required for implementing the country's natural, man-made and cultural resources [5].
Master planning and community involvement: The amenity benefits of parks are useful in land use planning and open space preservation. In developing countries, green space coverage is not adequate to meet people's needs. This is because of population pressure, industry expansion, construction and urbanization. Parks and recreational facilities are often insufficient and unevenly distributed in Ethiopian cities. The few parks that exist are non-functional, poor in basic facilities and management. The result is insignificant benefits for residents and the city. The major causal factors for the dysfunction are poor community and stakeholder involvement. Especially dialog and linkage among the mandated organization on parks are useful. This creates low community awareness, nonsystem to incorporate volunteer stewardship and community engagement. Despite this, Ethiopia developed Green Infrastructure (GI) definition and typologies. The existence of several obstacles, limit the potential of GI planning and designing. It prevents the realization of implementation, maintenance. The urban parks system needs a master plan builds upon a participatory process. The plan integrates natural and cultural features to achieve physical/health and recreation. The plan depends on the use, design, maintenance, recreation facilities. Many studies emphasize identifying opportunities for supporting partnerships, businesses and local communities. For managing parks, community involvement can lead to increased use, quality and experience. In particular, to fulfill the park facility's local needs identified and people communicated. Information exchange and active collaboration are basic for engagement.
American golden gate park stresses the need for the involvement of the community. This promotes awareness establishing communication and partnership division. Comprehensive plans, with requirements and regulations under the responsible authorities. The park's future resources preserved in cooperating with adjacent public and local governments, community organizations; and private landowners should establish and maintained.
Enough facilities: Recreational facilities including availability, accessibility, policy, aesthetic, social and environmental safety affects recreation. Their characteristics are usage, activity determinants. For instance, any signs of bad manners discourage facility use. While the absence of illegal activities. The availability of amenities encourages facility use. Similar findings revealed that facilities with good lighting neighborhood safety found in a positive for physical activity. A park requires a land base, big city systems range in size from almost 20% of a city's area down to 2.5 percent. About more than 5000 m2 park area for 1,000 residents to over 300 m2 per 1,000 meter distance travel. There is a range of possibilities; especially nonexpanding older cities. Older cities can use redevelopment of outmoded facilities or under used urban infrastructure. Planers underutilized such as closed shipyards, rail depots, abandoned factories. Decommissioned military bases and filled landfills for park [6].
Urban residents' benefits from utilizing park facilities depend on design. According to the Ethiopian national park standard, a park called a city park if it has more than 15 ha. This para expected with an average distance of 6000 m and can serve up to 300,000 people sub city park can reach up to 8 ha area with a distance of 4000 m providing service for 160,000 people. District level park size 3 ha access within 1000 m to 1500 m and can serve up to 40,000 people. Neighborhood park size at least 0.3 ha to 0.5 ha access with a distance of 500 m can serve up to 5000 people. Besides, the park and recreation development needs enough public revenue or operating budget. Donations, programs, major construction and repairs and land acquisition are also important.
A study showed only local funding for parks is insufficient and uneven. Because most park and recreation spending originates at the local level. Healthier cities divide more resources to these uses. Ethiopia and other developing countries affected with a reduced budget and high population. A lacked information and framework for understanding and support to create welldeveloped parks. Hence, strategic job design in diversity partnership with diverse local stakeholders. Colleges, universities, diverse partner’s organizations, volunteers and staffs are among stakeholders. These stakeholders' staffs specialize in natural resources professionals. Professional’s staffs including horticulturists, foresters and landscape architects.
Fair access: The outstanding park system not has barriers rather accessible to everyone. These include network cycling with adequate bicycle parking facilities. Appropriate and connected with a broader open space network throughout the area. The distribution of green spaces especially parks often benefits wealthier communities.
The park improves access to roadway surfaces, drainage and directional signage. Regardless of residents, physical abilities and financial resources assured. It's also an opportunity for low income, Elderly and disable users. We are responsible to integrate accessibility into park service from facilities to education. Parks distributed throughout an area providing fair access to all residents. In recent years, the parks have introduced three-dimensional models, upgraded trails and pathways. The brochures are available in large print, braille and audio [7].
People and parks are no farther than 5 minutes apart by foot/ bicycle in dense areas. This includes appropriate surfacing materials, ramps and signs. The environmental pollution control proclamation No. 300/2000 aims to protect the environment and the biota and the aesthetic value of nature. The urban plan proclamation No. 574/2008 includes principles applying to green infrastructure. It's also safeguarding the community, environment and restoration of historical and cultural heritage. The Ethiopian cities prosperity initiative 2013/14-2025/2014 ensures green and resilient cities. Access to green space and parks recognized as environmental justice. Park planners take steps to meet the needs of disadvantaged communities. Several points of historical, natural and cultural resources access to park users. Some park activities that will disturb and fragment wildlife habitats in the park. Such as hunting, noise, fishing and motor boating avoided in the wetlands. Passive activities (studying nature and physical trampling) have negative effects. Thus, some activities needed seasonal restriction depending on the periodic variation [8].
User satisfaction and safety: According to one of life’s a greatest gift influencing the quality of an individual's life? Satisfaction within one's leisure experiences promotes social well-being. It strengthens community and informal interaction from different backgrounds. City and partner actions show a commitment to building social capital and wellness. Urban residents’ historical, social and cultural values built. Parks are accessible with affordable fees or free. Yet, proximity, size, access level influence park users. Most users preferred lighting, trusted neighbors, private facilities and sports fields. Micro gyms to increase physical and energy expenditures.
A study in New York city showed neighborhood crime, safety, hazardous traffic, pollutants and noxious land discourage users. Environmental risk, industrial facilities noise, heavy traffic and park quality affect usage. One study in Alberta (Canada) confirmed that low-income communities. Especially women would use neighborhood parks, most would not because of personal safety concerns [9].
In Ethiopia, the political system discourages visitors and tourist movements. Recently official reports revealed that political protesters and vandalism on the rise. Vandalism and illegal activities are destroying public facilities, plants and their surroundings. 54.3% of respondents in Hawassa city revealed the existing few parks are not accessible. These parks are not safe for visitors and residents. Users dislike seeing chewing chat, smoking and kids mistreat, beg users, sexual activities and waste disposal in the park. Knowledge about injury location and time needed to help provide a safer environment for park visitors. Many park users are unwilling to use areas of a park they perceive as unsafe. It deters many users from using parks at all because of fears for safety [10]. We should conduct an assessment to identify community interests and potential partners. The academic community, professional associations, law and any changes, etc.
Most studies confirmed that crime prevention through environmental design in a park. Particularly, safety element preferences are significant in designing. Safety and environmental quality enhance hard management solutions. Lighting, barriers, fences, visitor regulation and law enforcement presence needs. In parks safety messaging, communication and preventing undesirable users are vital. For instance, drug users, homeless, loiterers and drug users/dealers are influencing visitor behavior. In a similar vein, deterring crime, dog free areas, vandalism, identifiable and approachable staff. Park keeper's presence and improved supervision and users feel safe must be a priority for local authorities. In a recent article people's work together to achieve shared goals can reduce crime and disorder, even in very poor communities.
Recreation park outstanding management practice
Landscape standards: In recent decades, standards have emerged as an important element for quality. Many types of standards used in planning and managing park areas. Park design standards required for safety and local and other facilities. Standards quality defines the least acceptable conditions of the resource and social components. The control effects of use aligned with parks' mission and vision standards of quality integration in planning events useful in defining desired future conditions. It also tests the need for and effectiveness of management actions. Particularly, detailed landscape quality standards determining quality landscape outcomes. And serve as a performance based evaluation tool for maintenance. Yet planning and developing standards of quality can be challenging. Because standard formulation involves various legal and administrative mandates often assumed. It also includes policy, historic precedent, expert change, interest group politics and visitors’ opinions. And parks most affected by management actions. In Ethiopia in 2015, an urban green infrastructure standard was being prepared. It has helped to bring awareness at a national level. But, cannot put in place in the real ground. Yet developing standards and matched to local social, economic and environmental need [11].
Design: Public parks or outdoor recreation manage by design, not by default. It intends to provide a broad range of recreation management problems in parks across the diverse units of the park system. Sustainable Park, which emerges in the late 1990’s, proposes three general attributes. These include self-sufficiency in material resources and maintenance problems beyond park boundaries. New standards formulated for aesthetics and landscape management in parks and other landscapes. It also considers policy issues in park design and management. Landscape architecture, public participation and ecological education need to address. The design part considers much use and identifies appropriate practices for the identity of a place. Its appearance has approached a consistent way. Enhancements to design reduce landscape damage and improve the efficiency of maintenance staff. It enhances the visitor experience because of easy access, comprehensive and clear information. It strengthened the entire level of excellence in landscape appearance. Ordinary people and many professionals recognize that design often lies at the heart when a new park or urban green space is being created. Design and management are also a key part of tackling many of the barriers to the use of parks and needs to solve [12].
Visitor information: Resident's self-reported perceptions of park qualities an important for encouraging park use. Such as size, maintenance condition, safety and proximity. Approaches for improving visitor experiences coordinated orientation to enhance way-finding and educational information. Mobile welcome centers and downloadable self-guided tours system and regulations. Mobile welcome centers and downloadable self-guided tours system and regulations. The role of strong natural resource management integrated with repair and recovery signage. And park infrastructure and visitor services. Managing diversity and demands from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Assessing, mapping and understanding recreational visits are crucial to identify the best locations. Reports showed visit distribution across sites; predict annual visits and monetary values [13].
Maintenance: The management of landscapes concerns existing open spaces. Public green spaces such as public parks, playgrounds and residential green spaces developed. It involves many organizations and their practice for the sustainable development of cities. Park planners need to understand the maintenance practices and landscaping. When considering the size, spacing design elements for successful integration. An area with good looks has more value and gets less abuse; rather have small well maintained parks than many mediocre parks.
Park quality amenities, maintenance and crime can influence visitation. Park amenities/features, number and types of facilities and aesthetics may affect parks. Properties prevent visits such as reduced safety and poor maintenance. We measure park quality through residents' perception or park audits. Improving the qualities of the parks and increasing the budget and personnel assigned. The maintenance of the parks is essential. The maintenance approach includes staffing structures, scheduling and practical maintenances consideration. These effects resulting from regular visitation, events and chief desire landscape quality [14].
The landscape quality standard goals, creating zones and experimenting is an emerging practice. Fostering a sense of pride in employees is a critical component of a successful maintenance program. This maintenance achieved by streamlining hiring staff, linking day-to-day operations. Study sites are using organic mulching programs and tactics for limiting the use of chemicals and mitigating damage. Many parks in Addis Abeba are being managed. The values of recreational sites, resources lack and cannot address these days' interest of visitors.
Events management: Revealed that active events program many people likes music, theater and bandstand.
Attracting more people would make parks more interesting to be. Events are part of the history of all cultures to celebrate in public and private life. Events might international, national and local levels in public, commercial and voluntary sectors. Events are of many kinds. These are 'major events' and 'special events'. It used to describe a very wide range of ceremonies and trade and public exhibitions. Events management is among many of the challenges in parks. When hosting large scale and high use events on vulnerable landscapes. Argued visitor numbers vary daily by orders of size depending on weather and holiday periods. So park managers must be wise, with comprehensive event guidelines. Use limitations on most duration and number of events and regulation enforcement. A staffed team of professional events staff will boost the performance of a park's event program. Depending on the scale of the event, fees and bonds should recover the cost of the event program and event damages. Because of visitors' behavior, equipment and activities costs for ecologies. These are an option for biodiversity conservation and revenues for recreation management [15-18].
Many park systems in many countries received large influxes of money and attention. For instance, the annual recreation values of Hamle 19 and Future parks in Ethiopia 453768.39 and 482380.84 US dollar. Besides, found the annual recreational value of wildlife viewing in lake Nakuru Park in Kenya to be 7.5-15 million USD. Studies in golden gate national park (USA), each year and park visitors contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy. This money sustains the revenue stream and jobs at hotels, restaurants and stores that serve park visitors. Economic modeling shows that in 2010, park visitors spent $260 million in the local economy and supported 1,500 local jobs. The ecotourism increment of wildlife resources is revenue for developing countries in the future. Hence, to address the budget gap, a poor policy of poor country parks agencies increases visitor numbers [19,20].
Parks have seen significant growth in recent years across the world. But the effectiveness of parks and recreation facilities has a poor situation in developing countries, especially in Ethiopia. This is partly because public parks and their facilities failed to meet standards and lack management practices. Such outstanding practice does not provide the type of parks that the urban residents need and expected. Parks need closer attention to maximize benefits, reduce maintenance costs and increase quality. Because well developed and managed parks can make residents healthier and provide many benefits. That is why effective outstanding development and management practices and experiences should be integrated for the success of parks.
I have reviewed 11 outstanding practices for park development and management. Park development practices including site demarcation, purpose, plan, community involvement, facilities, access, satisfaction and safety. All these practices are practicable along with the structure of existing systems. The rest of the landscape standards, site design, visitor information and maintenance and event management practice are excellent in park management.
Looking into examples from Ethiopia, we can see that municipal authorities can do much better than done in previous park projects. Well developed and managed parks can even make money by fostering tourism, satisfying and attracting users. Ethiopia is in the best situation to learn from national and international effective park development. Thus, with the current political will and dine for Ethiopia vision, this paper contributes as supportive for officials. The information provides a guideline to use when planning for parks and maintaining landscapes.
I am grateful to all the scholars of the scientific papers used in this review. I also thank my colleagues at Wondo Genet college of forestry and natural resources of Hawassa university who gave comments during the period of development of this paper.
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Citation: Dirres AD (2023) Review of Effective Outstanding Practice for Guiding Development and Management of Urban Parks Lesson for Ethiopia. J Tourism Hospit. 12:520.
Received: 22-Feb-2021, Manuscript No. JTH-21-8608; Editor assigned: 25-Feb-2021, Pre QC No. JTH-21-8608(PQ); Reviewed: 11-Mar-2021, QC No. JTH-21-8608; Revised: 03-May-2023, Manuscript No. JTH-21-8608(R); Published: 31-May-2023 , DOI: 10.35248/2167-0269.23.12.520
Copyright: © 2023 Dirres AD. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.