Contributions of Visitation in Parks to Health and Wellness: A Comparative Study between Natural and Urban Parks in Brazil

ABSTRACT

In recent years, researchers and international bodies have been focusing on better understanding the potential of parks for the promotion of their visitors’ health and well-being. Most of these initiatives are directed toward parks and green areas located within urban centers, favoring aspects related to physical health, illness prevention and treatment, and moments of sociability. Studies that aim to cast a wider look at the diversity of motivations and potential benefits associated with parks, including natural (non-urban) parks, are scarce. This work conducted a comparative study between an urban and a natural park in Brazil, seeking to understand motivations related to health and wellness, as well as the benefits perceived by visitors. The research analyzes data from 180 structured questionnaires (n = 180) completed by visitors of both studied parks. The results confirm the creation of direct benefits to the visitors’ health and well-being, especially emotional and psychological ones.

KEYWORDS:

• Parks
• visitation
• health
• wellness
• Brazil

Acknowledgements

This work was carried out with the support of CNPq, National Council for Scientific and Technological Development—Brazil (process n. 150439/2020-2) and Post-Graduate Program in Tourism at EACH-USP

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Urban parks are interpreted as every public use space destined to any kind of mass recreation, playing ecological, aesthetic, recreational and leisure functions, able to incorporate conservation intentions, and with self-sufficient morphological structure, that is, their configuration is not directly influenced by any structure built around them Macedo and Sakata (2010 apud Graça & Telles, 2020, p. 743).

2 https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/aug/07/10-best-parks-urban-green-spaces-high-line-new-york-hampstead-london-park-guell-barcelona, accessed in 23 November 2023.

3 From US 378,00 to US 2200.

4 in the Brazilian Southeast countryside, Caipira were and still are the little traditional farmers and fishermen, that produces their way of live based in the cycles of the nature and in community traditions.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico [grant number process n. 150439/2020-2].