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EVALUATION OF USABILITY OF PUBLIC PARKS IN SATARA CITY (W.R.T.

INCLUSIVE DESIGN), DIST -SATARA, MAHARASHTRA

Conference Paper · October 2022

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 EVALUATION OF USABILITY OF PUBLIC PARKS IN
SATARA CITY (W.R.T. INCLUSIVE DESIGN),
DIST – SATARA, MAHARASHTRA.
Ar. Mrunalini V. Patil1, Dr. Avanti Bambawale2
1
Student, M. Arch (Landscape), S.K.N College of Architecture, Pune
2
Professor, S.K.N. College of Architecture, Pune
[1] 9527529890, mrunalinipatil77@gmail.com; [2] 9850757773, avanti.bambawale@gmail.com

Abstract: Historically the main purpose of public urban between latitudes 17054‟ to 18011‟ N and longitudes of
parks is to provide large open spaces within a city that 7503‟ to 74054‟ E with an altitude of 697 m above mean
can help mitigate the negative effects of industrialization. sea level. Satara city is located in the bowl like enclosure
Recently, most developed countries of the world have formed by Ajinkya Tara fort on south joined by
recognized the importance of inclusive design of public Yawteshwar hills in South-west. Important historical
parks for both environmental and social sustainability. places like Pratapgad and Sajjangad are also near to
These include increasing community resilience by Satara city. World famous hill stations like
shaping people's perceptions of positive health outcomes, Mahabaleshwar and Pachgani are within reach of two
social welfare and social relationships, trust, welcome hours from Satara city. Satara city is also well connected
and safety. Therefore, it is imperative to ensure that with important towns and cities of Maharashtra by Road
public parks are inclusive. "Inclusive" means "space for and Rail. Satara city also serves as political, economic,
all" which suggests that everyone should be greeted in social and industrial and educational hub of the entire
space regardless of gender, age, sexuality, race, ethnicity, district (Ankush Barkade, 2011). Hence, it is
religion, cultural background, socio-economic status or mushrooming as one of the developing cities.
personal values. However, there are many public parks Though Satara has blessed with many natural green
that already exist in developing cities but suffer from spaces, heritage sites and historical places in and around
abandonment or underuse due to their un-inclusive city, they are out of reach of citizens considering time,
planning with respect to physical, mental and social expenditure and transport medium in day-to-day life.
needs and preferences of citizens. The purpose of the Therefore, the public parks in city play an important role
study is to evaluate the elements required to improve the in fulfilling physical, psychological and social needs of
park usability through inclusive design and to analyze the citizens and within reach of people considering time,
factors affecting park usability and its inclusiveness with expenditure and transport in day-to-day life.
case examples of four public parks of Satara city,
Maharashtra. Primary data is collected through field
observations and behavioral mappings and interview
survey. 120 samples of different age group, gender, and
social background and income groups have been
collected.
Finally, the research identifies the opportunities and
challenges for inclusive design of public parks in Satara
city. Finally, the paper reflects on the generality of the Figure 1: Location of Satara [10]
overall design that must be taken into account and
considered when designing successful public parks.

Keywords: Public Parks, Usability, Inclusive, Visitors.

1. Introduction
1.1 Study Area:
Satara city from Maharashtra, India is a historical
city currently at acceleration stage of the process of Figure 2: Arial view of Satara City [10]
urbanization. The city was founded in the 16th century
and was the seat of the Chhatrapati of Maratha Empire; 1.2 Background of Public parks and Inclusive
Shahu I. Satara city is located in the Satara District of planning:
Maharashtra state of India, near the confluence of the Green spaces have existed in cities since ancient
river Krishna and its tributary, the Venna. The city gets times, mainly as private gardens in palaces. The concept
its name from the seven forts (Sat-Tara) which are of „Public Park‟ evolved after industrial revolution as
around the city. The town is situated near Pune- areas set aside to preserve sense of nature in cities and
Bangalore, Diversion National Highway No.4 and lies
towns. The, modern public parks were created in United Inclusion means overcoming obstacles that may deprive
Kingdom in mid-ninetieth century to improve physical some people of the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of
and mental health of people [1]. The idea of modern urban the park and recreation. Therefore, in order to know the
park to bring enormous green spaces in the urban perceptions and feelings of citizens about existing parks,
communities was first introduced in Britain with it is necessary to evaluate the role, benefits and potential
improvement of Victoria Park 1840. Which turned into of existing public parks in developing cities.
initiator of public parks was called as “People‟s Park”. It Understanding the importance of "inclusion" of parks in
was then trailed by development of Birkenhead Park developing cities; As an architect to improve the
1847 in Liverpool, England designed by Joseph Paxton usefulness of the park through inclusive planning in the
[2]
. The Birkenhead Park was greatly appreciated due to future; The four examples are taken as an opportunity to
fulfilment of people needs by providing recreational evaluate the usefulness of the most visited public parks
areas with different activities [3]. In a contemporary in the city of Satara.
urbanized society, public parks play a very important
role from environmental benefits to enhance physical, 1.4 Aim and objectives:
social and mental health of citizens [4]. The aim of this research is to evaluate the usability
Understanding the need and importance of public of selected parks by examining the concept of 'inclusion'
parks in citizen‟s well-being: like other developing cities, of public parks and to identify the properties that
local authorities particularly Satara Municipal describe this concept. The aim of this paper is to reflect
Corporation has made a great effort since 1992 to on the generality of the overall design that should be
develop several green spaces for serving recreational and considered at the beginning of the park design. First,
cultural activities for making the city healthy and livable. with the help of case studies to identify the most used
So, it becomes more significant and relevant for a and popular parks in different places with their current
city like Satara to prioritize public space inclusivity, as it usage patterns and then to understand the feasibility of
has culturally and socially diverse population and measures to evaluate the utility of parks in the context of
definitely inclusive planning to parks will add value to its inclusive planning. In addition, the objective of study is
usability and success. to explore the level of inclusiveness and their
Inclusiveness is fundamental to the successful design interrelationships through aspects of physical, social and
of public parks (planning magazine-well-designed public psychological properties that affect park inclusion, which
spaces are inclusive ones). Inclusive public spaces are should better equip park managers and designers to
places where people feel comfortable and have a sense of develop and manage inclusive public parks at developing
belonging regardless of their gender, age, ability, cities like Satara. These findings can help improve the
sexuality, race, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic status, overall design approach and management of public
religion, profession, etc. When grandparents with kids, parks. This research focuses primarily on the physical,
people who pick up bottles and young couples can feel mental and social needs of citizens towards inclusive
comfortable being together in the same space is an parks.
Inclusive public space. Initially, all public spaces should
be inclusive. They create opportunities for social 1.5 Scope and Limitations:
interaction and promote urban diversity. It's not always The scope is focused on different scales but the most
possible to create a 100% inclusive public space, but visited public parks in Satara city have been selected.
there are always ways to improve and engage as many The study includes field observations and on-site
people as possible. interviews to understand the preferences of different
The feeling of inclusiveness is a subjective feeling users for inclusive design of parks.
rather than an objective measure. There are many Limitation –The ecological and economical aspects of
overlapping dimensions of various physical, social and public parks are excluded from research as it focuses
mental attributes that can affect the sense of only on the physical, social and psychological aspects.
inclusiveness in a public space. When people use public
space, it becomes a process of transforming a built-in
2. Literature Review:
space into a meaningful space with a mixture of
combined memories and identities. Inclusive public According to Drivers, Brown and Peterson [5]. Park
space can make people feel both physically and mentally; visitors will react in the urban space, if they found their
So being in a public place is a physical and emotional desires or needs. If park fails to respond to visitors needs
experience. This makes it challenging to evaluate public and preferences, it might be represented through
space inclusion, as it is affected by both tangible physical decreasing usability of parks [6]. As per Maslow [7], basic
environment and intangible mental experience. [5] human needs are divided into six categories:
physiological needs, safety-security, feel of belonging,
1.3 Need of study: need or recognition, fulfilment of potential, aesthetics.
But these are very general and need a thought while
Presently most developing countries have recognized applying to park design [6]. It was proposed by Carr et al.
significance of multi-utilitarian utilization and [8]
That successful urban public spaces should respond to
inclusiveness of public parks in sustainable development five basic human needs; comfort, relaxing, discovering,
of cities and peaceful and health life of citizens. passive and active engagement with park environment.
 Carr suggests that comfort is most important and Research begins with a review of the literature to
essential need [6]. The relaxation could be achieved find a correlation between the needs of parks and people
through combination of psychological need of sense of and the usability and inclusiveness of public parks. It is
exploration. Watching and observing natural features, important to ensure that our public spaces are inclusive,
people activities can attend passive engagement of as everyone should have equal access to the free valuable
visitors [6]. Active engagement involves socializing resources provided by public spaces. Therefore, data is
through talking or playing with other individuals [6] Parks collected through literature studies to understand the
serve their visitors through fulfilments of different needs many interrelated components of inclusive planning of
and preferences. Therefore, evaluating usability through public parks.
inclusiveness is an important tool for finding information
on the characteristics of park visitors' needs for 3.1.2 Selection of public parks of Satara:
improvement of existing parks or development of new In Satara city, there are 15 existing parks (fig.4) with
parks. Proper design and maintenance of public parks in different amenities, scale and type, different locations. In
accordance with the needs of the users and in a good present study, four parks based on most visited,
natural environment will provide an inclusive green popularity and expert‟s opinions are selected as case
space with a positive impact on the citizens and nature. study. Among the four parks Ayurvedic Garden, Godoli
Accessibility, convenience, and responsiveness to a is nearly developed in last four years. Chh. Sumitraraje
variety of uses are key principles for achieving an Udhyan and Guruwar Baug are established around 1996
inclusive design (Waller and Clarkson, 2009; EIDD, and were renovated in last four years. Rajwada Baug was
2004). In the context of public parks, inclusive design oldest of all. Chh Shahu Udhyan and Chh. Pratapsinh
takes into account the needs of general users and special Maharaja Udhyan (Rajwada Baug) are situated at core
needs groups, such as the elderly and disabled users. It (congested – Gavthan) area of Satara City. While
also takes into account the different preferences and Ayurvedic Garden and Chh. Sumitraraje Udhyan are
needs of people of different ages, genders, social status situated in non–congested zones of city.
or ethnicity in recreational activities. Different
requirements for park visitors of different ages have been
highlighted by different scholars (e.g., Liu et al., 2017;
Jim and Xizhang,2013). While seniors enjoy open spaces
with social connections and some prefer to live in nature-
connected spaces, teenagers are in dire need of a hangout
area with maximum views of passers-by. Significant
differences in park activities among users with different
ethnics are found in the requirement for social and
nature-based activities (Whiting et al., 2017). Given the
diversified use of public spaces, a variety of spaces Figure 4: Parks in Satara, Maharashtra [10]
should be provided to be inclusive public parks for
different groups of users (Towards an engaging, The Figure 4 shows the 15 existing parks in Satara,
inclusive and meaningful planning development of an Maharashtra. Out of the fifteen parks following four
urban park. In phitsanulok, Thailand Suthat parks have been selected for study:
yiemwattana1, sasima charoenkit1Doi: 1. Shri. Chh. Sumitraraje Bhosale Udyan
10.21163/gt_2019. 141.21) 2. Chh. Shahu Udyan (Guruwar Baug)
3. Ayurvedic Garden
3. Methods and Methodology:
4. Shri. Chh. Pratapsinh Maharaj Udhyan (Raj
Wada Baug)
Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the existing
uses on the basis of field observations and interview
survey to evaluate usability of parks through lens of
inclusivity was conducted.

Figure 1.1: Flow Chart of Methods and Methodology

3.1 Data Collection:

3.1.1 Literature review:
 proximity to the central city bus stop, only Rajwada
Udyan is easily accessible to city buses and people in the
long-haul area. Other parks, the Ayurvedic Gardens, are
accessible by city bus, as Visawa Naka is 500 meters
from the bus stop. But Sumitra Raje and Guruvar Bagh
cannot be reached by city bus. The Ayurvedic Garden
has more water features than the other three gardens and
they are in working condition. These features are the
highlight of the park for children. Only Chh. Sumitra
Raje Park has two entrances while other parks have only
one entrance. Ayurvedic Garden and Guruwar baug has
maximum lawn areas (40%) which are not allowed to
access to visitors. On other hand Chh. Sumitraraje
Figure 5: Location of selected Parks in Satara City [10]
Udhyan also has one lawn patch not accessible to visitors
(20%). Rajwada baug has no lawn patches (fig.11)
Ayurvedic Garden(fig.13) has in its N-E corner very
3.1.3 Site survey /Field observation study:
dense vegetation which is not accessible (18%) Chh.
Primary data collected through field observations Sumitraraje Udhyan has almost 40% of its area under
and behavioural mappings at different timings on dense closely placed vegetation not accessible to visitors
weekdays and weekends. The observations are recorded (fig.10) Rajwada baug and Guruwar Baug(fig.12) has no
in form of photographs and markings on layouts. The dense vegetation areas but it has old trees with big
comparative analysis graphs of four parks are prepared. umbrellas creating natural shading areas to visitors.
Possible opportunities and challenges of parks w.r.t
inclusive planning approach are explored.

3.1.4 Interview survey:

The survey was done by a structured questionnaire
with questions based on different attributes of inclusive
planning affecting usability of parks. 120 samples with
different age groups, genders, income and social
backgrounds and with different abilities are selected.
Almost 30 samples are selected for each park.
Figure 6: Chha. Shahu Udyan (Guruwar Baug) [10]
4. Discussions:
4.1 Field observations and comparative
analysis:
4.1.1 Site context:
The site context of each garden is different in many
ways. Chh. Sumitra Raje Garden is built on a triangular
plot at the junction of two roads. Many hospitals,
institutional areas are close to it. The Ayurvedic Garden
also has several multi-speciality hospitals, school and Figure 7: Shri. Chh. Pratapsinh Maharaj Udhyan
college buildings and residential and commercial areas at (Raj Wada Baug) [10]
closed proximities. Guruvar Bagh is situated on the edge
of Gaothan and is surrounded by residential and
commercial areas. Chh. Pratap Singh Maharaj (Rajwada)
Park has a Chowpatty area which is close to the main
market of the city, next to it is a historic palace. It is
located in the heart of Satara city. There are many
important places like main Rajwada bus stand, rickshaw
stop, peddler zone, Golbagh etc. Due to its central
location, it is the most convenient park for the citizens of
Satara.Considering the places and parking facilities, only
Figure 8: Shri. Chh. Sumitraraje Bhosale Udhyan [10]
parking area is defined in Ayurvedic Garden, Chh. The
parking lot of Sumitra Raje Udyan is on the side of the
road and Rajwada Udyan has no defined parking area
and parking conditions are extremely critical during rush
hour. Guruwar Baug also has no defined parking zone,
visitors park their vehicles along roads which sometimes
become reason for traffic congestion. Due to its
 Figure 9: Ayurvedic Garden [10]

4.1.2 Amenities, activities, landscape

composition and special patterns and
design

Figure 12: Chha. Shahu Udyan (Guruwar Baug)

Figure 10: Existing layout of Shri. Chh. Sumitraraje

Bhosale Udhyan

Figure 13: Ayurvedic Garden

Figure 11: Shri. Chh. Pratapsinh Maharaj Udhyan

(Raj Wada Baug)
Table 1: DESIGN, PATTERN, ACTIVITIES AND AMENITIES IN THE PARK WERE DISTINCT
FROM EACH OTHER WHICH ARE SHOWN IN FOLLOWING TABLE
CHH. CHH.PRATAPSINGH
CHH. SHAHU UDHYAN
SMT.SUMITRARAJE RAJE UDHYAN AURVEDIC GARDEN
(GURUWAR BAUG)
UDHYAN, (RAJWADA BAUG)
Case study - 1 Case study - 2 Case study - 3 Case study - 4
Location SADAR BAZAR GURUWARPETH RAJWADA AT GODOLI
Size 9,460 sq. m. 10,560 sq. m. 3,127 sq. m. 12,732 sq. m.
Accessibility Foot, private vehicle etc. Foot, private vehicle etc. Foot, private vehicle, bus etc. Foot, private vehicle, bus etc.
Physical Attributes
Presence of parking No separate parking zone, No separate parking zones No separate parking zones separate parking zone
Parking along road Parking along road Parking along road
Entrances Two One One One
Presence of water Not present Two fountains but not in Not present Two Water fountain in
Element working condition working condition
Present functions Jogging tracks, Jogging tracks, Children play area, Jogging tracks, Acupressure
open gym, open gym, Toy train area, path, Children play zone,
Children play area Children play area No separate jogging tracks. Fountain show, Stepped
seatout in front of fountain,
Yoga pyramids
Lighting condition Good at children play zone, Good at children play zone, Poor Poor
entrance and stepped seatout. entrance.
Poor at jogging tracks. Poor at jogging tracks.
Clean drinking water facility Not available Not available Not available Only one filter is available
Toilets Good clean Very bad very bad condition Not provided in the park but Good
outside park public toilet
Food facility in and around Only one or two hawkers are Small snack centres are Rajwada chaupati is next to Many snack centres are
park there in the evening available around baug available around
Water features Old fountain present but not One small fountain Waterfall at entrance.
in working condition Fountain with fountain show.
No. of benches 9 8 4 0
Maintenance Good Poor Poor Very good
Psychological Attributes
Shade Jogging tracks lined with Due to presence of many old Due to presence of many old Very good
trees have good shade but trees with large umbrellas, trees with large umbrellas,
children play area has no very good shade areas all very good shade areas all
sufficient shading area over park over park
Comfort No comfortable seating areas No comfortable seating areas No comfortable seating areas No comfortable seating areas
for care givers of children, for care givers of children, for care givers of children, for care givers of children,
old age old age old age old age
Aesthetics Good Fair Fair Very good
Safety Good Good Good Very good
Explorational activities Not present Not present Not present Not present
Barrier free vision Due to many dense Besides scale of park, and Due to small scale and equal After entering the park,
Of all zones of park vegetation zones, no visual many old trees, due to central division of park zones and vision of whole park at a
connection of zones large pathway, vision of central pathway clear vision glance is achieved.
achieved. almost 65% park at a glance of All zones possible.
is achieved.
Social Attributes
Group seating areas Not specially designed One small concrete raised No special benches or seating Stepped amphitheater like
Benches are also randomly platform provided with only arrangement. Boundary walls central area gives lot of scope
arranged. 3 to 4 benches. And one of children play area acts as to group seating with small
small stepped amphitheater seating. riser.
like seating arrangement. But some old people find this
Riser of seats is not small riser very
comfortable to old people. uncomfortable for seating.
Community gathering areas Not present, but opportunity Not specially provided, but Due to small scale, less Not present, but lot of scope
of converting lot of dense lot of scope is available with scope. available through alteration
vegeted areas to such places proper planning and design. in design of unaccessible
is present. lawn patches, which are
almost 40% of park
 4.2 Behavioural and usage pattern mapping and comparative analysis:

Behavioral and usage pattern mapping of visitors for four parks are done at different week days and on weekends at
morning and evening.

Figure 14: Ayurvedic Garden at Godoli

At Ayurvedic Garden:
Use max. on weekday evening and weekend evenings by age group below 15 for children play area, for fountain show
at evening and to experience ambience and aesthetic of lush green environment. Even the children below 12 yrs. like
to play on stepped seating and teens and adults like to chitchat, relax while seating at central stepped portion. As there
are no other recreational, explorational activities and Maximum use for jogging and walking and children play area.
For yoga, visitors find this park‟s green atmosphere very peaceful and relaxing.

Figure 15: Chh. Shahu Udyan (Guruwar Baug) At Guruwar Peth

At Chh. Shahu Udhyan:

Due to poor lighting conditions, maintenance problem, visitors feel this park unsafe for evening use. This resulted in
use of park max. on weekday morning and weekend mornings. besides poor maintenance of children plays
equipment‟s, it is found that Response from below 15 age group is max. on weekend morning and weekday mornings
for children play area. Walking and jogging activity has maximum preference by visitors due to long and broader
track running around periphery and through different park zones. Seating is mostly favoured by age group 30-50 and
above 50 yrs. But they find seating capacity insufficient and uncomfortable.

Figure 16: Chh. Sumitraraje Udyan

At Chh. Sumitraraje Udhyan:
As no other recreational facility other than jogging track and children play area available, Max. Use for jogging and
walking on weekdays morning and weekend mornings. Only 40% of jogging track used at evening due to dense
vegetation and poor lighting. widths of jogging track not suitable for vigorous activities like running etc. age group
15-20 have very low response.

Figure 17: Chh. Pratapsinh Raje Udyan

At Chh. Pratapsinh Maharaj Udhyan:

use max. children play area on weekdays morning and weekend evenings. Response from 15-50 age group is low as
there is no other activity other than children play area.

4.3 Interview Survey and Analysis: Frequency of visiting:

The frequency of visitors for walking and jogging for
Proximity preference: Shahu Udhyan is maximum due to its comfortable
Almost equal percentage of participant visiting the jogging track due to its width, length and ambience
Ayurvedic Garden from minimum to maximum shows created due to old trees around jogging track. Frequency
that visitors from long distance also prefer to visit this of visiting all parks for social activities is zero as park‟s
park: the reason is that they feel it is the best park with planning and design is lacking to create scope for such
respect to activities, green atmosphere, safety and activities.
maintenance comparing other parks. The fountain show
at evening is main attraction point for all age groups.
Comparatively only 10% of participants prefer to visit
Sumitraraje Udhyan from long distances due to limited
activities and insufficient seating and not appealing to
spend extra time. Only close proximity preferred to visit
this park. 5% Participants from long distances more
prefer to visit Shahu Udhyan maximum percentage is of
up to 5 km for jogging and walking. Participants prefer
to visit Pratapsinh maharaja park from close proximity
up to 3km and only 25% prefer to visit from long
distances more than 5 km.as this park has easy
accessibility by city bus and share autos. And chaupati
(food facility) in close proximity.
Park Safety:
100% participants are satisfied with safety of Ayurvedic
Garden and Sumitraraje Udhyan due to comparatively
good light condition, no barriers for vision of different
zones of park.36% are satisfied with Guruwar Baug
safety as visitors feel compound wall height and type is
not safer and 60% are satisfied with Pratapsinh Maharaja
Udhyan safety as it is closed from all sides with proper
compound wall.
 How longer stay at park:
Maximum preference was to time of 30 to 60 minutes
was shown by participants of all parks and very low
response to more than 60 min was observed. This shows
that citizens of Satara prefer to spend 60 minutes only at
park which is average time. Parks should be developed to
attract and urge people to stay longer.

Social Interactive place:

61.9% participants are satisfied with Parks social
interactive places of Ayurvedic Garden as its central
stepped seat out created gives opportunity for at least
small-scale gatherings, 65% are not satisfied with
Sumitraraje Garden as there is no scope for even small
group seating.77.3% not satisfied with Shahu Udhyan
,50% participants are not satisfied with Pratapsinh
Maharaj Udhyan. This shows that only Ayurvedic
Garden has potential of having social interactions.

Seating Capacity:
Though Ayurvedic Garden has max. seating provided
from other parks. Still 71% participants find it not
Favourite Park: sufficient. 95% participants of Sumitraraje Udhyan not
Ayurvedic Garden has maximum ratio 95% of citizens as satisfied with Seating facility.100% participants of
favourite park due to its better ambience, activities, Pratapsinh maharaja Udhyan and Shahu Udhyan are
maintenance, light conditions, safety, recreational unsatisfied with seating facility. This shows that place
activities like fountain show, acupressure path which for sedentary activity and comfort of participants should
visitors find appealing than other parks. This shows that be taken into consideration while designing parks.
citizens like to explore new places for recreation,
physical activity and atmosphere.

Toilet position and facility:

90% participants are satisfied with Toilet facility but
100% are not satisfied with its position at Ayurvedic
Garden Satara as it is placed very close to children play needed for females, seniors and teenagers that currently
area and visitors find it unhygienic and uncomfortable underutilize park services.
and entry of toilet is very open,75% participants are
satisfied with toilet facility and 60% with toilet position 3. To increase attractiveness and safety inclusivity of
at Sumitraraje Udhyan. No one is satisfied with toilet parks; appropriate signage‟s to make route attractive and
position. Only 36% satisfied with toilet position of Shahu to help people become aware of walked distances etc.
Udhyan. This shows that toilet facility and positions need should be added.
to be given thought as it is very basic need of visitors.
4. Maximize current park capacity: Parks are
underutilized particularly in morning and weekdays. This
provides an opportunity for an inclusive design and
program for residents who are not at work like senior
citizens.

5. One dimension of the inclusive design is that it will

connect different zones of parks through visual access for
all and enhance the feeling of safety and security for all.
In Chh. Sumitra Raje Park, the level of inclusiveness is
low, as the dense vegetation creates obstruction of
contact and visibility. Which is having a detrimental
effect on garden use in the evenings.

6. The dimension of inclusiveness is that it is necessary

Maintenance of Park:
to take care of social access at Ayurvedic Gardens and
100% participant are unsatisfied with maintenance of
Chh. Shahu Udyan (Guruwar Baug) has many wide areas
Pratapsinh Udhyan, 86% of participants are not satisfied
with Guruwar bag maintenance, 100% participants are of green inaccessible lawn patches are acting as dead
satisfied with Ayurvedic Garden and Sumitraraje Udhyan space. Therefore, they need to be made alive and usable
maintenance. This shows that only 50% of Satara parks and transformed into vibrant places
have good maintenance and others need to improve.
7. Visual and functional connectivity enhances the
inclusion of parks. Balance with a wide range of
5. Key Findings: landscape features, such as naturalness, diversity,
The decline in open public space has also been vitality, maintenance and safety, balance of colours,
caused by 'publicity' and 'inclusion' in provision and variety of colours and number of accessory elements play
management policies, which exclude people from the a vital role in the overall inclusion of gardens that must
process of designing, developing and managing physical be considered in Satara Gardens.
space and public space instead of creating inclusive
space for all. (Rogers, 2010; Low et al., 2005; Akkar, 8. Satara Gardens create challenges and opportunities for
2005a; 2005b; Neal, 2010a; Public Research Group n.d.) inclusiveness for young people as they need to use open
Akkar (2005), The type of access also defines the ideal public spaces for their personal development and engage
all-inclusive public space, which is: physical access, with the public sector. Young people need free and
social access, access to activities and discussions, or unrestricted space for their physical, social and mental
interaction and visual access. development, for the development of their self-reliance
Considering all the analysis of the area and and creativity, for experimenting with their identity while
interviews, it is clear that the design of Satara Public developing their own concepts of morality and empathy.
Parks leaves opportunities and challenges to ensure (Aitken, 2001; cited in Perkovic, 2007). However, the
inclusiveness for the needs of the community and for design of most public parks in Satara excludes youth.
relaxation, relaxation, contact with nature, diverse From the above key findings; Satara Parks have opened
activities and social communication opportunities. up space and opportunities for inclusive planning and
Following key findings based on study of case thereby improving the usability and sustainable urban
examples are noted: life for all citizens.

1. Proximity is important determining whether people 6. Conclusions and recommendations:

will use park or not? Creative ideas are needed to
develop additional facilities and basic amenities to urge Following are some basic guidelines and
inclusiveness to access visitors from distant proximities. recommendations for an inclusive planning approach to
public parks from an overview of all literature reviews,
2. Park should offer inclusive activities appealing to observations, analyses and key findings:
adolescents, females and seniors: Park space in Satara
city are currently devoted to moderate activities. But The layout of the garden should be legible.
both moderate and vigorous and sedentary activities area
Everyone values options, such as passive or active
recreation, sun or shadow, single or multiple seats.
Hence the vibrant activities that are provided for
different days and times for different visitors.

Parks should enable visual and functional

connections. Design should have social interaction. Parks
should also have mile markers for encouragement. The
gardens should underline the natural beauty that creates
peace and comfort.

Multifunctional and diversity

No space has only one single characteristic. Each
public space should have pockets with different features
and the community can decide what they want to
highlight.
 Public spaces are not uniformly designed and should
not be. They are all unique and site specific. They
should also reflect the local community and the
environment in which they are located.
 Public space should allow for different levels of
participation. People should not have to interact with
public places in the same way.
 Public space needs to have a 'scale' of engagement so
that people can interact and engage with public space
in the way and level they want.
 Public spaces should be multipurpose day and night.
They are dynamic not static.

Organic, flexible and community oriented

 Public space must be organic. If there are pieces of
basic design, they should allow users to interact and
interpret space in their own way and customize the
space.
 Public space reflects income level. If a place is too
manicured it automatically excludes lower-income
communities and becomes a space for more affluent
groups.
 Although public space programming and activations
help increase space usability, they should not be a
solution to improve inclusion. A public space should
be inclusive in itself without much intentional
programming or activism.
 There should be no need to rely heavily on design
Figure 18: Challenges and Opportunities
changes for public space inclusion, but instead use
small things that make them unique and people- Parks are important settings in cities to provide
friendly. (as shown in fig. 18) opportunities for physical activity, relaxation, exposure
 Highly planned and highly manicured public spaces to nature, and social interaction. There is a need to
balance the park zone, green environment and various
are less inclusive. People should be allowed to
facilities.
interact and interpret public space in different ways. Inclusive design can be used as a guide for
[5]
developing open public spaces to develop solutions that
Some of the solutions to implement the above enhance cultural exchanges, increasing the likelihood of
guidelines are given as examples (Fig. 18). participation of all types of users. As well it can help to
ensure the needs of all members of a community and
allow for better quality of life between the people and
their city. Also, an inclusive design approach will help to
improve social relationships and in a best-case scenario,
help to increase a wellness environment that reduces
potential sources of conflict as well as ensure the right to
equality, including people of different abilities, without
border gender (elderly, pregnant women, children, etc.).

7. Acknowledgments:
I am grateful towards Smt. Kashibai Navale College
of Architecture, Ambegaon, Pune for giving me the
opportunity of conducting and presenting this research. I
am thankful to my research guide Dr. Avanti Bambawale
and Ar. Mukta Gokhale for their constant and valuable
guidance. I would like to thank everyone who was,
directly and indirectly, involved with the course of this
study.

8. References

[1] Hilary A. Taylor, URBAN PUBLIC parks,1840-

1900:design and meaning
[2] T. Ian, Urban parks. A history: 1839–2012.,
Landscape, J. Landsc. Inst. (2013) 37–41
[3] E. Boults, C. Sullivan, Illustrated History of
Landscape Design, John Wiley and Sons, New
Jersey, 2010.
[4] National Recreation and Park. Association for more
information on value and benefits of parks to
www.nparks.com
[5] Understanding „Inclusiveness‟ in Public Space:
Learning from Existing Approaches, Stella L. Zhou
August 2019
[6] B.L. Drivers, P.J. Brown, G.L. Peterson, Benefits of
Leisure, Venture Publishing, Pennsylvania, 1991.
[7] M. Suhardi, Preferences for Usability at Taman
Tasik Seremban, Malaysia, Universiti Putra
Malaysia. Alam Cipta 8 (1) (2016)
[8] A. Maslow, Motivation and Personality, Harper and
Row, New York, 1954
[9] S. Carr, M. Francis, L.G. Rivlin, A.M. Stone, Public
Spaces, Cambridge University Press, New York,
1992.
[10]R.S. Rabare, R. Okech, G.M. Onyango, The role of
urban parks and socio-economic development: case
study Of Kisumu Kenya, Theoret. Emp. Res. Urb.
Manage. 3 (12) (2009) 23–36.
[11]Google Images
[12]https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecities
collective/what-do-seniors-need-parks/1070996/

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