Thesis (BS Architecture) University of the Philippines Mindanao, 2019

As areas where many people are present, urban parks are places where different demographics are present. The importance of these demographics in terms of their perception, and movement patterns provided insights on the quality of the park. More importantly, the quality of the park for it to be classified successful relied on its ability to satisfy four main aspects: Access and Linkages, Comfort and Image, Uses and Activities, and Sociability. Also, determining the movement patterns of the park visitors provided the knowledge of where people usually go inside parks- where they stay, the paths they chose, and what made them stay in that particular location. Six parks were studied and assessed: Ramon Magsaysay Park, Rizal Park, Quezon Park, Osmeña Park, People’s Park, and Freedom Park. For respondents to assess the parks, survey questionnaires were handed for them to answer. Some were also interviewed to allow a more in-depth information on the collected data. For the movement patterns of the park respondents, park maps were provided, where they were asked to remember where they navigated through the park, from the entrance to where they were currently located when interviewed. With these, the research provided that the majority of the park visitors belong in the 24 years old and below age group, which were also mostly students. What also made the people visit parks was that they needed a place where they can sit and relax for a while, especially under tree shades, after going to commercial establishments (malls, food establishments,etc.). More importantly, what made people roam around the park more, and stay there for a longer period, involved the presence of amenities which provided diverse uses and activities and thus, created more opportunity for sociability.