TY - JOUR AU - Willemse, Lodene PY - 2015/05/31 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Some perceptions and preferences of residents’ use of community neighbourhood parks in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town JF - Town and Regional Planning JA - trp VL - 66 IS - 0 SE - Research articles DO - 10.38140/trp.v66i0.569 UR - https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/trp/article/view/569 SP - 15-31 AB - <p>Urban parks help enhance the value of urban settings and provide dynamic&nbsp;recreation facilities for citizens; however, environmental injustice is still noticeable&nbsp;throughout South Africa regarding the unequal distribution of urban parks. This&nbsp;article provides an overview of community neighbourhood park (CNP) conditions in&nbsp;five subsections of Mitchells Plain (Beacon Valley, Portlands, Rocklands, Tafelsig,&nbsp;and Woodlands). Results indicate that 18% of the respondents in Mitchells Plain&nbsp;have to walk further than the accepted norm of 15 minutes to reach CNPs. This&nbsp;negatively influences the CNP usage patterns, and the time spent in CNPs. The&nbsp;most important concerns influencing CNP non-use include safety and improper&nbsp;maintenance (mostly experienced in Portlands), and a lack of facilities and natural&nbsp;features (mostly experienced in Tafelsig). The ways in which CNPs can be improved&nbsp;echo the concerns for not visiting CNPs frequently. Significant policy implications for&nbsp;the City Parks Department are also discussed.&nbsp;</p> ER -