Dynamics in urban places: public parks in the inner city of Poznan, Poland.

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to identify what is the dynamics in public parks in the inner city area in Poznań, Poland. 6 parks of different size and with different amenities will be investigated basing on two main methods of data collection: observations and interviews with park users. The city of Poznań was chosen for this research as it has the unique system of green radial gores that connect the city centre with the city outskirts. This provides plenty of opportunities for leisure and recreation. Despite these vast green areas parks located within the inner city area are still very popular among citizens of Poznań and their offer expanded significantly in few last years. This research will investigate what is the dynamics of these place i.e. what are the users of given parks and when do they use them, what are the interactions between these users, how parks differ between each other, what are the factors that facilitate the park use. Results of this research might help to better understand what is the dynamics of the park use thus identifying the periods in which park use is not popular and finding the reasons for that. This in future might serve as a guide for the city council to better organize the parks and to better plan their offer to prevent exclusion of some groups from the park use.