Shared-Use Pathways Located in Natural Settings within the Urban Context: A Multiple Case Study Exploring How Design Affects Use by Children.

COX, ADINA JEANNE. Shared-Use Pathways Located in Natural Settings within the Urban Context: A Multiple Case Study Exploring How Design Affects Use by Children. (Under the direction of Professor Robin Moore.) With an increasingly urbanized world, children have less opportunity to move freely about their neighborhood environments, interact with nature, and engage in free-play behaviors. Vehicle traffic and parental concerns about safety have limited biking and walking for children. Pathways provide opportunities for multiple healthy behaviors for children, including opportunities for physical activity, contact with nature, active transportation, access to play, and independent mobility. Pathway use by children has not been studied, although the federal government provides transportation funding for pathways and children have need for such recreation and transportation alternatives. Understanding children’s use of pathways is essential for communities that they may effectively utilize transportation dollars in planning and designing high quality pathways for use by children. A case study approach that includes four pathways in four states and utilizes multiple methods informed this research. Two types of pathways were selected as cases: pathways located within destination parks that incorporated play equipment in play pockets, located in Springfield, Missouri; Chattanooga, Tennessee, and pathways located along neighborhood greenways, located in Richardson, Texas; and Cary, North Carolina. Behavior Mapping was used to observe pathway affordances and behavior in settings that occurred along pathway corridors. Parental perceptions of benefits, safety, and independent mobility were determined through surveys conducted at all four sites. Pathway traffic counts conducted on site provided information on the age of. Results suggest the following conclusions: 1. While vegetation may provide benefits such as shade, wildlife habitat, contact with nature, and scenic beauty, dense vegetation my discourage use by increasing parental fears. 2. Installation of play pockets may lead to more frequent pathway visits and increased duration of visits. This is important as time spent outdoors is associated with higher levels of physical activity for children. 3. Children are attracted to wildlife along pathway corridors. This important attribute may be encouraged by pathway planners and managers through careful attention to pathway location and landscape quality. 4. Parents ranked ‘family fun’ highest as a desired pathway benefit, followed closely by physical activity, contact with nature, and scenic beauty. These family benefits may be useful information to public health, and park and recreation system officials to promote pathway use. 5. Parents are concerned about social safety of children in natural environments but high visibility along pathway corridors may decrease parental fears. © Copyright 2013 by Adina Cox All Rights Reserved Shared-Use Pathways Located in Natural Settings within the Urban Context: A Multiple Case Study Exploring How Design Affects Use by Children