Why Don’t Americans Use Their Parks at Night?
Parks & Public SpaceSummary
The use of urban parks in the U.S. at night is lower than in other parts of the world. It was found that parks in several large cities in the U.S. are closed after dark. In contrast, the nightlife in Seoul remains lively past midnight. The reason is due to differences in culture, geography, and climate. The American Dream also plays a role where Americans live in bigger homes and further away from parks as a result of suburban sprawl. Thus, they have less access to taking strolls in parks. Whereas people who live in high-density cities such as in Asia have smaller homes and have greater access to the outdoors, especially at night after work. Americans also associate nightlife in parks as dangerous due to increased crime rates in the past. Parks have been a low priority in the past, but cities are now working on ways to improve the negative connotations associated with parks in the dark. Several initiatives from neighbouring cities could help the parks in the U.S. such as Los Angeles’s Summer Night Lights program which led to a major decline in gang violence in parks by implementing youth programs at night. Planning in parks need to be done strategically such as the amount of lighting needed, money investment and nighttime programming should be considered. This will also help residents to feel safer in public spaces at night.