A Conceptual framework for evaluating sustainability of urban parks in Scotland

Abstract

Urban parks play an important role in helping cities achieve their sustainability goals, since they contribute to the environmental well-being, economic prosperity, and social well-being. Nevertheless, in Scotland, the long-term viability of these parks is progressively threatened by causes such as urbanization. This project seeks to fill a notable deficiency in existing sustainability evaluations by creating and implementing a conceptual framework to assess the sustainability of urban parks. The study is organized around three primary goals: (1) to examine current understanding and methodologies concerning the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of urban parks; (2) to develop a customized framework for evaluating the sustainability of urban parks in Scotland; and (3) to validate the framework by applying it to specific case studies in the selected cities. Upon doing a thorough analysis of the literature on Sustainability, Development stages of an Urban Park, Urban parks and current frameworks, it became evident that there is a significant interdisciplinary link between these areas. Also, these frameworks frequently have a limited scope, prioritizing sustainability in park maintenance. A new framework, specifically designed for larger size urban parks, was developed by integrating the Planning and Design stage into the sustainable frameworks. This new framework is characterized by its scalability, flexibility, and replicability. The study used a mixed-methods approach, using qualitative data from park reports, as well as quantitative data from systematic field observations and GIS analysis. By choosing bigger urban parks as case studies, this research assures that the sustainability framework it develops is implemented in contexts where it may have the most impact, considering the current constraints of existing frameworks. Furthermore, this research is in line with global sustainability objectives, such as those specified in the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Goal 11. After the assessment, the report discusses the results and considers the Scotland’s Urban parks efforts in sustainability. The main conclusions are highlighted in the closing section along with suggestions for improving the park sustainability even further with the suggestions for future research possibilities.