Contextual influences on park design: participatory insights from diverse age groups


Atay Kaya İ., Güngör E. N.

CoDesign, ss.1-22, 2026 (AHCI, Scopus)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/15710882.2026.2685028
  • Dergi Adı: CoDesign
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus, Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-22
  • Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Participatory approaches considering diverse age groups are increasingly recognised as essential for inclusive urban landscape design. Yet, limited research explores how contextual urban features shape design preferences across these groups. To address this gap, this study engages children, young people, middle-aged adults, and older adults in a participatory model‑making co‑design process to examine how adjacent elements, such as schools, health facilities, commercial units, bus stops, and exposure to major roads, affect park design visions. The aim is to investigate how contextual factors influence collaborative park design preferences across different age groups. Findings reveal both shared and age-specific spatial strategies. Seating areas along the edge facing a healthcare centre were favoured across all groups, while young people envisioned an additional café located in a more secluded corner and older participants proposed a health station within the park deliberately distanced from the adjacent clinic. These insights illustrate how contextual urban elements influence users’ spatial imaginations and needs, reflected in two response types: measures addressing surroundings and features engaging adjacent uses. By drawing attention to diverse user groups, the study advocates for inclusive, user-informed, and context-aware landscape design approaches and highlights the potential of incorporating diverse user expectations to enrich urban park design.