ANALYSIS OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UTILIZATION CHARACTERISTICS AND HEAT ENVIRONMENT IN PARKS FOR HEALTH PROMOTION

Abstract

 The effects of climate change are already being experienced globally through more extreme weather events and the resulting impacts on people’s lives, health and wellbeing. Especially, growing proportions of older people are increasingly exposed to risks which are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It is necessary to provide opportunities and places for elderly people to go out to urban space more actively for health promotion. The Health Promotion Park and Meiwaike Park are neighborhood park located in Suita City and Settsu City, respectively. The purpose of this study is to clarify 1) the difference in utilization characteristics of Health Promotion Park and Meiwaike Park, 2) the relationship between exercise and heat environment in the Health Promotion Park. As a result, the main users of Meiwaike Park on weekday evenings are children, while the main users of the Health Promotion Park, including the evening of weekdays, are adults and the elderly. Many users are exercising with health playground equipment in Health Promotion Park. It was clarified that about 40% of users exercise at high risk of heatstroke.