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Social wellbeing has consistently emerged on the forefront of policy action in the recent past. Public space in urban areas is increasingly being augmented with green cover. Frequent visitors to urban parks have been reported to receive both mental and physical health benefits. Subsequently, a plethora of green public spaces are being developed across the urban landscape of several countries throughout the world. This study focuses on the association between green public spaces and human wellbeing in Singapore.
Primary data was obtained through field interviews in two urban parks in Singapore, namely East Coast Park and Singapore Botanic Gardens. A sample size of 30 interviews was completed, with a total of 15 interviews being conducted in each park. A needs-based framework was adopted for data analysis. Based on the list of protected needs (Defila and Di Giulio, 2015), satisfaction of each of the nine needs was recorded in the case of both parks. Overall, respondents at East Coast Park reported higher need satisfaction as compared to visitors to Singapore Botanic Gardens. The need satisfaction score was 41 per cent in case of the former and 33 per cent with respect to the latter. Apart from need satisfaction, responses have also been received on topics ranging from visit frequency at urban parks, and park infrastructure to activities conducted in green public spaces and important natural settings. Recommendations have been provided for the public sector in order to enhance park management and trigger continuous improvement. Further studies along the lines of need satisfaction in urban parks carries the potential to stimulate positive policy discourse on the achievement of social wellbeing through urban green public spaces.
