CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2023
| Author | Longo, Gabrielle |
|---|---|
| Title | Blue Gyms: Assessing Outdoor Fitness Infrastructure as Urban Blue Space Design in Coastal San Diego |
| Summary | The provision of natural spaces within the urban fabric has been advanced as a viable strategy for building resilience against the chronic lifestyle-related diseases associated with urbanization. Blue spaces have been a focus of interest in recent years for their mitigative, restorative, and instorative benefits, with the concentration on designing urban blue space for health promotion becoming increasingly relevant within the public health and urban planning agenda. Maximizing blue space potential is dependent on a complex relationship between the environment, the individual, and context-specific design features that provide opportunities for healthy lifestyles, but insufficient evidence exists regarding the real-world application of specific design solutions that promote physical activity within these spaces. This thesis draws on affordance theory to examine the provision of outdoor gyms within urban blue space design in Coastal San Diego. Utilizing behavioural observation and questionnaire analysis, study results found that outdoor gym use resulted in 28% of observed vigorous physical activity within the study site, indicating that outdoor gyms are a co-equal component of the physical activity affordance mix. Results also revealed community perception that the gyms are a cost-effective way to promote physical activity and add value to the blue space, but that specific design considerations impact their use. The analysis found that a view of the ocean and proximity to other amenities are enabling factors to outdoor gym use and that inclusion of more accessible equipment options is the most direct leverage point for their increased utilization. True to the study’s pragmatic approach, these findings provide actionable insight for local stakeholders while highlighting the importance of community co-design for actualizing the health potential of urban blue spaces. |
| Supervisor | Kalantzi, Olga-Ioanna |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2023/longo_gabrielle.pdf |
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