Evaluating the impact of public open spaces on the prevalence of lifestyle diseases among the youth living in the Central Business District of eThekwini.

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.