An Investigation of quality of open space in condominium housing apartments in Colombo

Abstract

The majority of contemporary research on condominiums and their facilities has focused on the significance of residential development. However, very limited research has been conducted to understand the open space in condominiums, the quality of the open space, and the condominium categorization. This study investigates to what extent open spaces in middle-income condominiums encourage all people and what open space characteristics and elements catalyse such interactions. The phenomena were examined by analysing four case study regions in the Colombo District. Four condominiums from middle-income categories were chosen with the assumption that these four cases may have different implications on open spaces with different characteristics. The research method technique was used for the research, and both primary and secondary data were obtained using the qualitative data collection method. The qualitative data analysis is carried out by questionnaire survey, interviews, discussion, and comparative analysis of empirical observation. During the survey, households are chosen using a random sampling procedure. This research is conducted with the understanding that the quality of open space is an important component of development. Two types of activities were used to evaluate the quality of open space, and the results suggest that necessary activities were the most dominant, leading to the conclusion that open spaces are found in high and low quality. The results highlight that with the assemblage of all the elements such as the Community Hall, Swimming Pool, Gym, children’s play area and Goggin paths people collectively support positive interactions. The study also discovered open space management, which is managed by condominium associations through private management services. Finally, suggestions are made based on the study's findings