Inaccessibility of urban parks

Incidence

A 1971 citizen survey in Berkeley, California showed that the great majority of people living in apartments in towns want access to (a) a pleasant, private balcony and (b) a quiet public park within walking distance. Further research showed that walking distance, in effect, means that the park should not be more than 2-3 minute walk away. People who live in close proximity to green parkland use it frequently. Those who live more than a 3 minute walk away do so less frequently in direct proportion to the increase in distance. Since the people who live further away obviously need the relaxation a park brings as much as those who live near, it follows that most urban planning penalizes many city dwellers by not providing enough parks. The same research suggested that an adequate park should be as much as 60,000 square feet in area, and at least 150 feet wide in the narrowest direction, in order to enable people to feel in touch with nature, and away from the hustle and bustle.

Claim

The modern technological state has greater need for wilderness than the ancient city state which was surrounded by it. Many of the features of urban cities give rise to a need for sanctuary, for places natural enough to soothe the tensions brought on by urban life and by its regulation of the natural self.