Accessibility to Urban Green Spaces for Women Users: A Comprehensive Approach to Urban Planning

Urban Green Spaces (UGSS) play a vital role in promoting physical and mental well-being and enhancing the quality of life for urban residents. Women represent almost half the population; however, female stakeholders use the parks less than their male counterparts. Therefore, it is essential to understand how women experience and engage with these spaces. The paper comprehensively reviews issues faced by women in utilization of USGS using literature survey. It is found that safety and security, maintenance, availability of women centric amenities, overcrowding, time availability, household engagement, cultural barriers, distance from home, and unavailability of facilities remain focus of concern by women users. Multiple hypotheses investigating influence of demographic factors like age, educational qualification, monthly income, and family size on the identified issues are formulated. For investigating the influence of demographic factors on identified challenges a questionnaire survey, containing 13 items including 4 demographic items, was conducted. A total of 248 responses from January to May 2023 were analyzed using qualitative analysis and ANOVA. The ANOVA results show that variance in among the above-mentioned demographic variables except monthly income has no significant influence on the concern of women to access Urban Green Spaces. The variation in monthly income impact overcrowding and availability of time. The inferences from literature and statistical analysis recommends need for inclusive design for encouraging women in Urban Green Spaces.