A Study on Components of Community Based Management of Urban Open Space

With both policy and science emphasizing the critical necessity of open space within urban social-ecological systems, focus on people-place interactions is essential to address issues of open space planning and management. The intimate interaction between communities and neighbourhood open space cannot be replicated or sustained solely by government intervention, but community involvement is necessary for its effective and sustainable management. Moreover the cities in India are reeling under development pressure, social and technological change and insufficient resources to care for social amenities like the open space. The mechanism for the provision and management of public open space is slowly changing during the last decade, away from complete government involvement and towards a larger role for community sectors. This paper has attempted to bring out conceptual linkages that can facilitate strategic and operational decisions in planning and community based management of neighbourhood parks in city. Household survey and ground survey is conducted to collect data on resident's response for collaborative management and evaluate spatial characteristics of neighbourhood open space respectively. Response to participatory management is evaluated in the context of six different neighbourhoods in the city of Bhubaneswar and relationship between social descriptors and participation in management is examined. It is found that the socioeconomic characteristics of the residents and the context of the place that is the neighbourhood and the open space within it, influence residents' attitude for involvement and the level of their participation in community management of urban open space.