CHAPTER 4: GREEN SPACE PLANNING
4.8 Rural communities and the social benefit of green space planning
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The important influence of green space planning on lively place planning can be concluded in the statement made by the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (2002:71) that
―...the right approach for serving the needs of people is to develop a diverse mix of types and sizes of spaces designed for and accessible to different social groups, within a general green space planning network for the wider area‖. Therefore, the most significant value of green space planning is its diverse approach, based on what the local people want and need i.e. planning for the people.
In planning such diverse and participative green spaces, a sense of pride is engendered with an appreciation by people of all ages. Therefore, benefits gained by creating green spaces include the provision of ―...vibrant towns and cities, better personal health, a stronger sense of community and a more prosperous economy‖ (House of Commons, 2003:3).
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Bisho, King-Williams town etc.) or become green walls that keep different communities apart (Barbosa et al., 2007:194). This is supported by De Jong et al. (2012:1397) stating that the feelings of safety and accessibility and green space planning values as key aspects determine whether residents will visit, use and benefit from these rural green space surroundings. Hence the value of rural green spaces as a clean, maintained and managed public space can reduce and/or inhibit the potential of these safety and security threats. This is supported by Baycan-Levent (2007:5) when stating the importance of managing and maintaining rural green spaces and amenities to address current quality decay and dereliction in order to create ‗...attractive, clean and safe places to enjoy‘.
As already mentioned the quality of green space planning including safety, multi-functionality, accessibility and on site presence of managers is one of the major determinants regarding the frequency of usage especially in rural areas where safety and neglected green spaces (as previously referenced) are common. Negative aspects including litter, signs of vandalism and lack of management can give (or in the case of rural communities, enhance) the impression that sites are potentially unsafe, which in turn reduces visitation rates (Barbosa et al., 2007:194). A potential recognition regarding the solution of ‗quality‘ problems does not merely include the increase of funding, but also raising the profile of these rural green spaces and achieving a more integrated government approach, enhancing urban- rural connection and integrating various other approaches to addressing rural challenges. This includes a cultural change in peoples‘ perception regarding what parks and other green spaces are used for, as well as targeted approaches that recognize the need to improve green space planning quality in deprived or unequally provided neighbourhoods (Wilson & Hughes, 2011:212) like the rural and underdeveloped green space inequality between rural areas in the Eastern Province and the more affluent areas within the urban context (i.e. parks, botanical gardens, etc. located within city boundaries).
Provision of lighting (brightening of rural green spaces and parks during at night), fences around the green space and the presence of any form of security will enhance the overall feeling of safety, especially for surrounding households – where, for example, households in Grahamstown that are closer to green spaces have decreasing property values, as security risks in this area bordering the public urban green space are higher (Walton et al., 2011:6).
The contribution of public provided green space planning (rather than private green space planning) also has a higher social value in terms of certainty of its continued existence as the persistence of privately provided green space may be less secure (Barbosa et al., 2007:193). For example, wealthy neighbourhoods might be more prone to losing private green space due to infill densification as well as
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the paving of front gardens, thus fewer private green spaces are secured and given, since privately owned green spaces can be erased or changed by the owners as they please. Developing and rural communities have higher density housing schemes, also inhibiting the future provision of green space planning, unless they are included in rural planning and housing projects like that of the RDP scheme (refer to Chapter 2).
Psychological access is also a valuable aspect regarding green space planning and relates to PGS being attractive (or not), to be safe for potential users and the fulfilment of the purpose for visiting a PGS (Shackleton & Blair, 2013:105).
Given the high incidence of crime in South Africa (a developing country in which about half of the population resides in rural areas (Campbell et al., 2008:4)), safety is also a key criterion in choosing and using public green space (Ward et al., 2009:54) as mentioned above by Shackleton and Blair (2013:105). With more open, maintained green spaces, a visual space is created that looks cleaner and more carefully planned. Reducing densely vegetated green spaces minimizes the possibility and opportunity for criminals to hide (Walton et al., 2011:14) and therefore provides for better safety within the green space.
The creation of green spaces with the adequate and efficient presence of on-site staff, maintenance and management decreases public safety fears regarding crime and vandalism in parks (Wilson &
Hughes, 2011:110) and as a result of effective maintenance, coordinated management, public participation and user responsibility, secure and attractive green spaces within sustainable communities are provided (Baycan-Levent, 2007:5) with baseline data emerged from pilot engagements in Riemvasmaak in the Northern Cape and Muyexe Village in Giyani, Limpopo as compiled and piloted by the CRDP (2009:3).
The provision of human green spaces is also conducive to good behaviour, limiting children and young adults from partaking in negative behaviour like criminal activities, underage drinking, drugs and fighting associated with open spaces in townships (Walton et al., 2011:32). Human-made green space rather allows these children and young adults to embrace nature and its associated recreational functions, inhibiting their partaking in these negative activities and bad habits.
It is vital for communities to include green space planning as part of any regeneration initiative in order to successfully plan lively places (House of Commons (2003:9); Swanwick et al. (2003:104). Green space planning that lack any form of regeneration or improvement is perceived as unsafe and therefore create a poor image, resulting in the lack of investment potential and possibilities (House of Commons, 2003:9). In creating safer spaces through green initiatives and approaches, potential for investors will
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rise, potentially contributing to more lively places and green spaces and overall qualitative rural communities.
4.9 Collaborate: Lively place and green space planning relevance in rural communities