Open public spaces and physical activity facilities: Study of systematic observation of the environment

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the quantity and quality of open public spaces (OPS) and physical activity (PA) facilities in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina. A descriptive survey was carried out in 2015 on the quantity, type and quality of OPS and PA facilities. The quality of OPS and PA facilities were assessed by systematic observation. A quality index of OPS (score-3 to 6 points) was divided into three categories, poor (category ≤0), average (0.1 to 2.9) and good quality (category ≥3). For analysis, descriptive statistics were used. Of the 214 OPS, the highest proportion was squares/gardens (n = 128, 59.8%). Of the 214 OPS, 59.8% were squares/gardens. About 51.9% (n = 111) of OPS had good quality. A higher proportion of comfort items obtained good quality, such as lighting (54.7%), trash cans (45.8%) and garden benches (55.1%). In more than 60.0% of OPS, there were no incivilities. Of the 377 PA facilities identified, 53.6% presented good quality and 13.8% poor quality. Playgrounds (29.4%), outdoor gyms (15.9%) and soccer fields/courts (14.9%) were more frequent, only the latter less than half had good quality (28,6%). There were no PA facilities in 29.0% of OPS. A higher proportion of OPSs have good quality, but less than half require improvement, comfort, less incivility and greater diversity of PA facilities. This may promote greater visits to OPS and leisure opportunities, including the practice of PA.