A Study on the relevance of urban parks and recreation spaces towards achieving ‘healthy cities’ in developing countries with special reference to Sri Lanka

Abstract

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Healthy Cities initiative promotes inclusive, safe, and health-centred urban environments, on the premises that healthy built environments are instrumental in making healthy communities who would contribute to the socio-economic development of a nation. However, the widely practiced means and ways of the Healthy Cities around the world remain less explored for their success in developing countries such as Sri Lanka. This study investigates the relevance and contribution of the public parks and open recreation spaces, which is an important attribute of the WHO-advocated Healthy Cities, in achieving healthy communities in the Sri Lankan context. The study has focused on the Greater Galle area in Southern Sri Lanka. Framing within Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs, the study employed a mixed-methods approach, including statistical interpretations of the socio-economic status of the communities, ground observations on the use of open recreation spaces, and in-depth interviews with the users, to explore the contribution of public recreation spaces towards improving the health of the community in the area. Comparing the socioeconomic profiles of the resident community in the area with those of the users of parks and recreation spaces, the study reveals a significant disconnect between the Healthy City ideals and on-ground realities, where access to health-promoting infrastructure is disproportionate and skewed toward higher-income groups. This highlights the need for a more context-specific, community-sensitive, and equity-focused approach to planning healthy cities.