Evaluating the impact of public open spaces on the prevalence of lifestyle diseases among the youth living in the Central Business District of eThekwini.
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Date
2023
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Abstract
The advent of industrial revolution created economic opportunities in urban centres. People flocked to
the cities in search of economic opportunities to improve their lives. Urbanisation escalated social
problems such as overcrowding, poor sanitation, diseases, and pollution in urban centres. With the chaos
that followed industrial revolution, city authorities developed comprehensive master plans as instruments
to manage social problems and mitigate against the adverse effects of urbanization (Batty & Marshal,
2009).
Comprehensive master plans became a planning instrument with which to physically structure city
development and to influence how people lived in and interacted with the environment in industrial cities.
By adopting master plans, lawmakers assumed that they would solve the many social and physical
problems that plagued industrial cities following the industrial revolution (Batchelor, 1969). Elements of
comprehensive planning included zoning controls, which proposed the separation of incompatible land
uses for the public good. For example, allocating space for residential, recreational, commercial and
industrial land uses. It was hoped that, by spatially ordering land uses the negative impacts of
overcrowding, pollution and noise levels on city dwellers would be minimised. That, interventions such as
zoning controls, would improve the quality of life for urban dwellers (Kostof, 1991; California Law Review,
1921).
Zoning enabled affluent urban residents who could commute by car between their homes and the city
centre, to live in suburbs. The suburbs were designed with better planned public amenities such as
community parks and playgrounds, which played a significant role in promoting a healthy lifestyle in the
neighbourhood. Low-income earners and other minority communities resided in the bustling central
business district (CBD), which in many instances was afflicted by crime, grime, noise and overcrowding
(Thompson,2007).
Like the suburbs that enjoyed better amenities, the CBD required similar amenities to make it appealing
to city dwellers. The provision and maintenance of social amenities such as squares, parks, gardens, and
playgrounds would enable city residents to enjoy a better quality of life. Public open spaces play a positive
role in nurturing a healthy lifestyle of a community; they create spaces for social and physical interaction.
Places where people live have an impact on human health and well-being. Health-related lifestyles of
individuals were likely to be affected by their environment. The living conditions in the urban environment
are important to the health and well-being of its people (Lestan, Erzan & Golobic, 2014; World Health
Organization, 2013).
A passive lifestyle and sedentary behaviour were associated with the prevalence of risk factors such as
smoking, excessive alcohol drinking, physical inactivity and unhealthy diets that cause lifestyle diseases
among young people living in urban areas (Oosthuizen, Jinabhai, Terblanche & Beck, 2008). The study
sought to indicate that public open spaces , as a town planning intervention, can be a catalyst to address
the incidence and prevalence of lifestyle diseases among the youth living in eThekwini.
The study drew on linkages between the prevalence of lifestyle diseases and the built environment to
highlight the spatial dimension as a critical intervention to address health concerns. Also, to highlight the
fact that the configuration of space can yield positive or negative outcomes on the incidence and
prevalence of lifestyle diseases among the youth. It further sought to highlight that policy interventions
on the provision, accessibility and management of public open spaces would encourage their use to
reduce the prevalence of lifestyle diseases. The study found that social barriers such crime from homeless
people “amaparah”, inaccessibility and distance of public open spaces from places of residence negatively
affected the use of the public open spaces by the youth. It further found that behavioural factors such as
access to technological devices (television and smartphones) encouraged young people living in the urban
core to engage in sedentary lifestyles and deprived themselves of the health benefits associated with
being physically active outdoors.
The main research question was to evaluate whether policy makers made adequate provision for public
open spaces when developing urban regeneration plans. This study hypothesised that configuring the
built environment would have positive health outcomes on the health and wellbeing of the youth
demographics (age and gender) in the central business district (CBD) of eThekwini.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.