| Title |
A Study on Community Participation in School Park Programs - Focused on the SPARK Park Program in USA |
| Keywords |
학교공원화 사업 ; SPARK 공원 ; 주민참여 School Park ; SPARK Park Program ; Community Involvement |
| Abstract |
School park projects in Korea have been popular throughout the country since 2001 with the growing interests of local governments. Despite the environmental and educational benefits, however, the government-driven school park projects have resulted in some issues and limits. Lack of community involvement has been identified as one of the most serious problems in projects and must be addressed for successful school park projects. In this respect, this study has discussed community involvement in school park program by in-depth study of SPARK Park Program in USA and its successful cases. The review of SPARK park development process from fundraising, planning, design, to construction provided some insights of community-driven school park projects. First, school park projects should be perceived as ongoing and evolving processes by communities, not one-time projects. Second, school parks must be the results from a planning/design process involving all stakeholders. Participatory planning will promote residents’ collective interests and ownership of school parks. Finally, willingness of the neighborhood and partnerships between the school and community groups need to be considered and evaluated in the process of school selection for school park projects. |