Open Collections

Abstract

The goal of the University of British Columbia (UBC) Campus and Community Planning Public Realm Plan for the Vancouver campus is to envision, build and maintain sustainable outdoor recreation spaces for the UBC community (UBC, 2009). The purpose of these spaces is to create opportunity for community, wellbeing, activity and socialization for UBC students, staff and faculty (UBC, 2009). This observational study offers insights to future outdoor recreation developments by determining the type of usage and degree of usage of three informal outdoor recreation spaces (Skatepark, Forestry Field and Basketball Court) along Thunderbird Boulevard on UBC Vancouver campus. Data was collected during three randomly selected observations periods for each condition during the week (two in the evening 5:00 - 5:30 pm and one in the afternoon 12:00 - 12:30 pm). Results revealed that there were significantly more active participants who used the Forestry Field over the Skatepark and Basketball Courts. Furthermore, there was a greater variety of activity that occurred in the Forestry Field in comparison to the other two conditions. The findings suggest that informal spaces are used more frequently for a variety of different activities and are just as important to healthy student life as are recreation spaces dedicated to specific sporting activities. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”