Disparities in Quality of Park Play Spaces between Two Cities with Diverse Income and Race/Ethnicity Composition: A Pilot Study
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methods
2.1. Study Sample
Irondale | Mountain Brook | |
---|---|---|
Population | 12,349 | 20,413 |
Race/Ethnicity | ||
White alone, not Hispanic or Latino | 54.0% | 96.5% |
Black alone | 35.4% | 1.0% |
Hispanic or Latino | 7.8% | 1.0% |
Asian alone | 1.4% | 0.9% |
Native American alone | 0.3% | 0.1% |
Education | ||
High school graduate or higher | 87.4% | 99.5% |
Bachelor’s degree or higher | 28.6% | 85.4% |
Median value of owner-occupied homes | $129,000 | $542,800 |
Median annual household income | $50,157 | $131,281 |
Persons below poverty line (percent) | 15.7% | 3.0% |
Land area | 17.3 sq mi | 12.8 sq mi |
Persons per square mile (sq mi) | 713 | 1596 |
Number of city-operated parks | 5 | 6 |
Persons per park | 2470 | 3402 |
Proportion of land area to park | 3.5 sq mi to 1 | 2.1 sq mi to 1 |
2.2. Procedures
2.3. Instrument
Section | Irondale (n = 5) | Mountain Brook (n = 6) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Median | Mean | SD | Median | Mean | SD | |
Location | ||||||
Informal oversight | 3.00 | 2.55 | 0.97 | 4.50 | 4.33 | 0.75 |
Well used by children | 2.50 | 2.10 | 1.08 | 4.88 | 4.38 | 0.93 |
Getting there | 3.00 | 2.70 | 1.19 | 3.50 | 3.75 | 0.50 |
Personal safety, lighting and security | 3.00 | 3.00 | 0.47 | 3.63 | 3.92 | 0.68 |
Accessibility in getting there | 2.75 | 2.15 | 1.05 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 0.79 |
Meeting other children | 2.50 | 2.45 | 1.10 | 4.13 | 4.13 | 0.79 |
Designed for the site | 1.50 | 1.85 | 0.78 | 4.00 | 3.21 | 2.11 |
Play Value | ||||||
Enticing to children to play | 2.50 | 2.30 | 1.04 | 4.00 | 4.13 | 0.31 |
Play needs of different ages (B & C only) | 3.38 | 3.19 | 0.47 | 5.00 | 3.60 | 2.19 |
Movement | 2.00 | 2.30 | 0.78 | 3.50 | 3.58 | 0.86 |
Imaginative play ages (B & C only) | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.46 | 2.75 | 3.15 | 1.27 |
Ball games | 2.75 | 2.60 | 1.61 | 1.63 | 2.54 | 1.64 |
Loose parts | 1.00 | 1.05 | 0.11 | 1.88 | 2.13 | 0.70 |
Access to the natural environment | 2.50 | 2.55 | 0.45 | 3.50 | 3.88 | 0.70 |
Places for children to sit | 3.50 | 3.50 | 0.77 | 4.13 | 4.00 | 0.65 |
Play opportunities for disabled children | 1.00 | 1.20 | 0.27 | 2.25 | 2.21 | 0.73 |
Added play value | 1.25 | 1.25 | 0.25 | 3.00 | 2.83 | 1.00 |
Care and Maintenance | ||||||
Well maintained | 3.00 | 2.95 | 0.84 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0.00 |
Health and safety | 2.50 | 2.60 | 0.42 | 4.63 | 4.54 | 0.46 |
Seating for adults | 4.00 | 4.10 | 0.74 | 5.00 | 4.67 | 0.82 |
Litter bins | 4.25 | 4.20 | 0.78 | 5.00 | 4.96 | 0.10 |
Dog free zones | 2.00 | 2.30 | 1.05 | 2.00 | 2.88 | 1.66 |
Presence of supervisory adults (B & C only) | 1.50 | 2.25 | 1.69 | 3.00 | 2.75 | 1.39 |
Toilets / changing facilities (B & C only) | 1.38 | 1.69 | 1.70 | 1.00 | 1.95 | 1.37 |
2.4. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. PSQAT Reliability Assessment
3.2. Comparisons of Scores between the Three Sections of the PSQAT within 11 City Parks
3.3. Comparisons of the PSQAT Scores between Parks of the Two Study Cites
Section | All (n = 11) | Irondale (n = 5) | Mountain Brook (n = 6) | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Median | Mean | SD | Median | Mean | SD | Median | Mean | SD | U | p-value | ||
Location | 62.86 | 63.44 | 19.53 | 47.14 | 48.00 | 14.06 | 82.14 | 76.31 | 12.94 | 3.0 | .03 | |
Play Value | 55.00 | 54.18 | 13.73 | 43.50 | 43.10 | 8.97 | 61.00 | 63.42 | 9.35 | 1.0 | .009 | |
Care and Maintenance | 68.57 | 68.77 | 15.99 | 53.57 | 58.11 | 14.21 | 76.43 | 77.64 | 11.91 | 3.0 | .03 |
4. Discussion
Limitations
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interests
References
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Jenkins, G.R.; Yuen, H.K.; Rose, E.J.; Maher, A.I.; Gregory, K.C.; Cotton, M.E. Disparities in Quality of Park Play Spaces between Two Cities with Diverse Income and Race/Ethnicity Composition: A Pilot Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12, 8009-8022. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120708009
Jenkins GR, Yuen HK, Rose EJ, Maher AI, Gregory KC, Cotton ME. Disparities in Quality of Park Play Spaces between Two Cities with Diverse Income and Race/Ethnicity Composition: A Pilot Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2015; 12(7):8009-8022. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120708009
Chicago/Turabian StyleJenkins, Gavin R., Hon K. Yuen, Emily J. Rose, Amy I. Maher, Kristina C. Gregory, and Megan E. Cotton. 2015. "Disparities in Quality of Park Play Spaces between Two Cities with Diverse Income and Race/Ethnicity Composition: A Pilot Study" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 12, no. 7: 8009-8022. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120708009