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A summary of the contribution of parks to human health and well-being. |
PARKS CONTRIBUTION TO HEALTH
MILLENNIUM INDRAPRASTHA PARK IN DELHI
The Millennium Indraprastha Park spans over a large
area of 85 acres stretching across a length of 2.7 km making it one of the
longest parks in Delhi. It has become a very popular hangout hub for young
couples and families who crowd this place during evenings and weekends. It also
features 13 Swings and Slides installed especially for children who are greatly
attracted to this place and in order to ensure that people spend a longer
period of time in this park; DDA installed five restaurants under one food
court offering ready-to eat food to all visitors as cooking within the premises
is prohibited.
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| The Millennium Indraprastha Park in Delhi |
The Millennium Indraprastha Park also features a
beautifully manicured Garden planted with beds of colourful flowers. The bushes
around the garden are seen clipped and trimmed into fantastic shapes and DDA
plans to construct a maze around this garden to add more fun and excitement for
the kids. Special efforts are in the pipeline to construct a separate area for
toddlers to play around with ample safety features. There is a stunning water
pool with cascades and fountain that are fringed with soft lights to ensure
that it does not harm the plants surrounding it. These lights are lit up in
evenings to add more glamour and attraction to the park. The park is well
equipped with pathways made especially for morning walkers and joggers,
benches, chairs and stools for sitting and a number of cottages covered with
thatched roofs that forms the main attraction of the park for all visitors.
The Millennium Indraprastha Park also uses the
assistance of the Sahitya Kala Parishad to organise various cultural events
within the huge amphitheatre constructed within this park. For the convenience
of the visitors the authorities have also installed drinking water taps and pay
toilets at every entrance of the park. Along with these facilities, parking
area for 25 cars is also available in front of each of the four gates of the
park with security personnel hired for safety against theft. DDA also plans to
create a proper parking lot with a reasonable parking fee to be paid in order
to accommodate more vehicles and provide better safety as seen in Malls.
The Millennium Indraprastha Park is covered with a
bright green carpet of grass that is seen well trimmed and maintained by DDA.
In order to create more greenery and natural ambience within the Park,
authorities have planted over 2,000 trees fringed along walkways and the
contours of the park and they will be adding over 8,000 more saplings of trees
in the near future. The work to embed more plants had tremendously slowed down
due to the nearby Sanitary Landfill surface filled with excessive methane
underneath which obstructs further plantation. Another factor which has been
kept in mind is not expunge and obstruct the area touching Humayun Tomb that
lies right behind the park as it is deemed as a heritage site by UNESCO.
Parks in Delhi
NEHRU PARK IN DELHI
Nehru Park, Delhi, is large park
situated in the Chanakyapuri Diplomatic
Enclave of New Delhi. Named after India's
first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, the park is spread over an
area of 80 acres (320,000 m2), close
to the heart of the city, and was established in 1969.
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| NEHRU PARK IN DELHI |
It is today one of city
leading green areas, and a venue for 'Morning Ragas and Evening Ragas Concerts,
as part of the "Music in the Park" concerts organized by NDMC, New Delhi
Municipal Council, SPIC MACAY music
concerts and the annual 'Bhakti Festival'. Apart from this it is a regular
venue for art events, morning yoga classes, and houses an ancient Shiv Temple
and cafe. The
park is one of the most famous landmarks of Delhi and a beautiful place to hang
out during a sunny winter afternoon in Delhi. An absolute must see for anyone
visiting Delhi.
The Park has a life size
alloy statue of Vladimir Lenin the leader of the Great October
Socialist Revolution of
Russia. The statue was installed on Ist November 1987 during the 70th
anniversary of October
Revolution. It was unveiled by then Soviet Premier Nikolai Ryzhkov, Indian Prime-minister Rajiv Gandhi and
his wife Sonia Gandhi.
MILLENNIUM INDRAPRASTHA PARK IN DELHI
The Millennium Indraprastha Park spans over a large area of 85 acres stretching across a length of 2.7 km making it one of the longest parks in Delhi. It has become a very popular hangout hub for young couples and families who crowd this place during evenings and weekends. It also features 13 Swings and Slides installed especially for children who are greatly attracted to this place and in order to ensure that people spend a longer period of time in this park; DDA installed five restaurants under one food court offering ready-to eat food to all visitors as cooking within the premises is prohibited.
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| The Millennium Indraprastha Park in Delhi |
The Millennium Indraprastha Park also features a beautifully manicured Garden planted with beds of colourful flowers. The bushes around the garden are seen clipped and trimmed into fantastic shapes and DDA plans to construct a maze around this garden to add more fun and excitement for the kids. Special efforts are in the pipeline to construct a separate area for toddlers to play around with ample safety features. There is a stunning water pool with cascades and fountain that are fringed with soft lights to ensure that it does not harm the plants surrounding it. These lights are lit up in evenings to add more glamour and attraction to the park. The park is well equipped with pathways made especially for morning walkers and joggers, benches, chairs and stools for sitting and a number of cottages covered with thatched roofs that forms the main attraction of the park for all visitors.
The Millennium Indraprastha Park also uses the assistance of the Sahitya Kala Parishad to organise various cultural events within the huge amphitheatre constructed within this park. For the convenience of the visitors the authorities have also installed drinking water taps and pay toilets at every entrance of the park. Along with these facilities, parking area for 25 cars is also available in front of each of the four gates of the park with security personnel hired for safety against theft. DDA also plans to create a proper parking lot with a reasonable parking fee to be paid in order to accommodate more vehicles and provide better safety as seen in Malls.
The Millennium Indraprastha Park is covered with a bright green carpet of grass that is seen well trimmed and maintained by DDA. In order to create more greenery and natural ambience within the Park, authorities have planted over 2,000 trees fringed along walkways and the contours of the park and they will be adding over 8,000 more saplings of trees in the near future. The work to embed more plants had tremendously slowed down due to the nearby Sanitary Landfill surface filled with excessive methane underneath which obstructs further plantation. Another factor which has been kept in mind is not expunge and obstruct the area touching Humayun Tomb that lies right behind the park as it is deemed as a heritage site by UNESCO.
CENTRAL PARK IN DELHI
Setup above the metro station Rajiv Chowk at Connaught Place, is beautifully developed 41,500 sqmtr park. With innumerable trees and shrubs including round the year flowering plants, it has twinkling lampposts and four water bodies including a cascade. A 350- seat amphitheater developed for cultural activities adds more value to this park. The central park has proper pathways for people to take a walk in the morning, too.
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CENTRAL PARK AT CANNAUGHT PLACE
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DEER PARK IN DELHI
Deer Playground is situated in Southern Delhi. Well-known with day hikers, it is helpful from IIT Delhi, Eco-friendly Park, Hauz Khas Town, Safdarjung Enclave or from R K Puram near the judges side of the Delhi Lawn Golf Connections. The Deer Playground along with the next Region Playground (that homes the historic Hauz Khas lake) and the Increased Lawn make up one of the greatest green places in New Delhi and are jointly known as "the lung area of Delhi" because they offer very clean air in the otherwise impure hustling busy super urban Delhi. It is known as Deer Playground because it actually homes a lot of deer in the park. There is a big box neighborhood for deer to walk around, play with each other, have an temporary helpful attack and offer a discovering and interesting experience to the readers especially the kids. Admission to the Deer Playground and the nearby green park is free and it is start daily from 5:00 AM to 7:30 PM during summer time and 5:30 AM to 6:30 PM during wintertime season.
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| Deer Park in Delhi |
CENTRAL PARK IN DELHI
Setup above the metro station Rajiv Chowk at Connaught Place, is beautifully developed 41,500 sqmtr park. With innumerable trees and shrubs including round the year flowering plants, it has twinkling lampposts and four water bodies including a cascade. A 350- seat amphitheatre developed for cultural activities adds more value to this park. The central park has proper pathways for people to take a walk in the morning, too.
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| CENTRAL PARK AT CANNAUGHT PLACE |
DEER PARK IN DELHI
Deer Playground is situated in Southern Delhi. Well-known with day hikers, it is helpful from IIT Delhi, Eco-friendly Park, Hauz Khas Town, Safdarjung Enclave or from R K Puram near the judges side of the Delhi Lawn Golf Connections. The Deer Playground along with the next Region Playground (that homes the historic Hauz Khas lake) and the Increased Lawn make up one of the greatest green places in New Delhi and are jointly known as "the lung area of Delhi" because they offer very clean air in the otherwise impure hustling busy super urban Delhi. It is known as Deer Playground because it actually homes a lot of deer in the park. There is a big box neighborhood for deer to walk around, play with each other, have an temporary helpful attack and offer a discovering and interesting experience to the readers especially the kids. Admission to the Deer Playground and the nearby green park is free and it is start daily from 5:00 AM to 7:30 PM during summer time and 5:30 AM to 6:30 PM during wintertime season.
HISTORY
When parks were first designed in the nineteenth
century, city officials had a strong belief in the possible health advantages
that would result from open space. It was hoped that parks would reduce
disease, crime, and social unrest, as well as providing “green lungs” for the
city and areas for recreation. At this time, it was also believed that exposure
to nature fostered psychological well-being, reduced the stresses associated
with urban living, and promoted physical health. These assumptions were used as
justification for providing parks and other natural areas in cities, and
preserving wilderness areas outside of cities for public use. Although parks
have not entirely lost their connection with health, the modern emphasis is
almost exclusively on their use as a venue for leisure and sport. The importance
of physical activity for health is well known, yet physical inactivity contributes
significantly to the burden of disease and is on the rise in developed
countries.
A wealth of literature exists, linking parks with varying levels and types of physical activity. For example, Wendel-Vos et al. (2004) used GIS databases to objectively measure the amount of green and recreational space in neighbourhoods, and found that there was an association between greater amounts of parks and sports grounds in an area and increased levels of cycling. Similarly, a study by Zlot and Schmid (2005) found that there was a significant correlation between parkland acreage and walking and cycling for transportation. However, other research has shown that it is not only the size but the quality of parkland and public open space (e.g., Giles-Corti et al. 2005), as well as its physical and economic accessibility (e.g., Bengoechea et al. 2005), that influences people’s use of such areas. As Lee et al. (2005) note:
“Merely building a park
in a deprived area may be insufficient for insuring its intended use. . . .
It is critical to provide ongoing support for
maintenance and civic improvements.” Exploring the role of personal, social and
environmental attributes as mediating factors in socioeconomic variations in
women’s walking behaviors, Ball et al.(2006) found that while all three
elements play a part, access to environments conducive to walking is a key
factor which needs to be taken into account.Two aspects of parks and open spaces
which influence their use are perceptions of safety and aesthetic appeal
(Evenson et al. 2006).
DIFFERENT WAYS FOR MAINTAINING HEALTHY LIVES USING URBAN PARKS
MEDITATION
Meditation is a great tool in treating the disease of addition and its usefulness for an unprecedented amount of people in recovery cannot be denied. Meditation and mindfulness should be practiced as a part of an individual’s plan of recovery in order to help free the mind of some of the bondage of addiction. When meditation is practiced regularly, the through process can be re-trained in re-aligned in a way that is conducive to starting a new way of life.
childhood traumaA study done in 2007
suggests that people who suffer from the disease of addiction and who practice
meditation have much higher levels of coping skills as well as awareness when
it comes to being able to recognize triggers and overcome the desire to take
drugs or use alcohol. Relapse is often attributed to stress and feelings of
hopelessness, which mediation is also effective at reducing.
“Physical
health is very important when it comes to addiction and the better a person
feels physically the more motivated they will be to stay sober".
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| Meditation an important part of life |
BENEFITS OF URBAN PARKS
Nature and green spaces
contribute directly to public health by reducing stress and mental disorders,
reducing health inequalities, and increasing perception of life quality and
self-reported general health. Indirect health effects are conveyed by providing
arenas and opportunities for physical activity, increasing satisfaction of
living environment and social interactions, and by different modes of recreation.
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| Meditation in Green Space |
INTRODUCTION TO URBAN PARKS
Urban parks are defined as delineated
open space areas, mostly dominated by vegetation and water, and generally
reserved for public use. Urban parks are mostly larger, but can also have the shape
of smaller ‘pocket parks’. Urban parks are usually locally defined (by
authorities) as Parks.
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| People involved in YOGA at Lodhi Garden |
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| People getting relief in their free time at Green Park |
