The Influence of Zilker Park on Austin and Its Inhabitants
Living in Austin, I have realized that outdoor public parks are essential to the culture that Austin has to offer. They have even turned into the places that I like most in Austin. I enjoy my time at Zilker Park, Mount Bonnell, the Greenbelt, and other parks more than any time I spend at a food truck or concert. The outdoor parks are really something special and provide something for every kind of person to do, so I decided to gather information about people’s opinions on parks and research what benefits parks provide to a city and its inhabitants.
Zilker park is famous, mostly as the setting of the Austin City Limits Music Festival for two weekends every year, but also for many other events it hosts such as Blues on the Green, Trail of Lights, kite festivals, yoga classes, and so much more. Zilker boasts wide open spaces for recreation, sand volleyball courts for sport, picnic tables to relax, areas with trees to hammock in the shade, ample parking (unlike most of Austin), and a beautiful view of the skyline in the distance. This only represents the well-known north side of Zilker Park, while on the south side of Barton Springs Road and the West Side of Mopac expressway, there are numerous other attractions including a nature preserve, a disc golf course, and Barton Springs Pool.
Zilker works well as a park and it is part of what makes Austin so special. Zilker Park accomplishes much more than parks in other cities. Essentially, the Zilker Park that everyone knows and loves is a plot of land with well cut (and sometimes green-dyed) grass, a couple hills, one big set of rocks in the middle, some sand plopped in a corner, and a couple picnic tables splattered about. The park is surrounded by a one-way street to park on and all its many other attractions are supplementary. Honestly, this doesn’t sound like the most appetizing park. So, what makes Zilker great and what are some of the benefits it provides to the city of Austin and its people?
Zilker Metropolitan Park covers 351 acres just south of Lady Bird Lake with Barton Creek cutting through the east side of the park. This is a very large area of green park space so close to the city, even if some roads cut through the park. I think what makes Zilker so special is the blend of human-made influence with nature. While the park is very natural other than a few picnic tables and sand volleyball courts, it is surrounded by the winding road and there is a beautiful view of the Austin skyline in the distance. You feel like you have escaped the hustle and bustle of the city, but you are still so close.
Research has shown that mere contact with nature can improve a variety of situations including enhancing “emotional, cognitive, and values-related development in children, especially during middle childhood and early adolescence. Nature contact has been credited with reducing stress and enhancing work performance” (Frumkin, 2003). Therefore, it is evident that a place like Zilker Park, which has a plethora of trees, grass, running water, botanical gardens, and many other facets of nature, would greatly benefit park goers psychologically by reducing stress, which is among one of the highest risk factors for heart disease and many other complications. This effect is larger than you think. Research has found that, “psychological benefits ranked higher in importance than the recreational and social aspects associated with parks” (Bedimo-Rung, 2005). People are generally happier when they visit Zilker. Being outdoors instead of sitting in congested traffic, cooking a meal, or watching television can significantly improve one’s mood. Another study found “the same benefit from living near city parks, agricultural areas, and forest… nearby greenspace was found to decrease a person’s health complaints in an amount equivalent to a five year reduction in that person’s age” (Sherer, 2003). All of this evidence goes to show that even the mere presence of a green city park can improve mood and health, even if the people there are not necessarily using it! It is amazing to see the joy parks bring to people from simply being outside in a space with other people. When I asked a fellow UT student at Zilker what made the park special, she responded by saying, “We just get so stuck in the city and never just go lay in the grass, feel the sun, and breathe in the air. Zilker provides a great escape from the city.”
Another huge benefit of parks is the avenue they provide for people to get outside and participate in physical activity. So much of our lives are spent sitting at a desk for work, sitting in a chair for class, sitting in your car driving to and from these activities, and sitting on the couch watching television. As evidenced above, research shows that people are happier in general by spending time outside and in contact with nature. However, most people do not just find joy at Zilker from being outside, people are also very active at Zilker. It is amazing that, “despite the importance of exercise, only 25 percent of American adults engage in the recommended levels of physical activity, and 29 percent engage in no leisure-time physical activity. The sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diet of Americans have produced an epidemic of obesity” (Sherer, 2003). Escaping to the park gets people out of a chair. People walk their dogs, throw the frisbee, play volleyball, swim in Barton Springs, along with a plethora of other activities when they visit Zilker. The presence of a good public park not only makes people healthier psychologically, but it also helps their physical health. It is evident that “creation of or enhanced access to places for physical activity led to a 25.6 percent increase in the percentage of people exercising on three or more days per week. A group of studies reviewed in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that ‘creation of or enhanced access to places for physical activity combined with informational outreach’ produced a 48.4 percent increase in frequency of physical activity” (Sherer, 2003). This means that simply increasing access to a place like a public park can significantly change the amount of exercise in a community. When I polled a sample of people at Zilker Park and asked what they do at Zilker, the vast majority of them cited fairly strenuous physical activities such as playing sand volleyball, playing soccer, playing frisbee, and running around with their dog. A park is one of the easiest ways to provide a place for physical activity and Zilker does just that with its fields and volleyball courts. When asked about the biggest health problem facing the US today, some people responded by saying cancer and a few other diseases, but most people cited obesity and laziness as the factor hurting American’s health the most. In the words of one of the people I interviewed, “Americans are so darn lazy, we sit around and watch Netflix and we ride electric scooters to class instead of just going outside and exercising.” Zilker Park provides an available space close to the city for people to engage in these enjoyable physical activities.
Another important factor when assessing public parks is the safety of the park. Obviously, people do not want to go to a park that makes them feel scared or uneasy. There are many factors that go into safety of a park. The presence of crowds of people may seem like it would be a negative aspect in a park, but is actually one of the biggest positives. Not only does the presence of many people signal that a park is sought after and interesting, but “crowding is associated with safety, security, and positive visitor experiences in urban parks” (Godbey, 2005). People feel safe in Zilker because during just about the entire time it is open, there are always crowds of people there. Zilker is also very open and well patrolled by police, so I have never felt threatened there.
The presence of the crowd of people always makes you feel safe, but also leads to social connections. Zilker’s green space mixed with streets and open visibility make it a popular and safe destination because, “degree of naturalness and woody vegetation increased the perceived scenic quality of park environments. However, naturalness and vegetation correlated negatively with perceived safety, suggesting that while naturalness is important, open lines of sight are needed to enhance perceptions of safety” (Godbey, 2005). This shows that Zilker having a natural element, but still maintaining open views, makes it seem much safer and therefore a more popular park. After polling a group of thirty park-goers on whether they thought Zilker Park was safe or not during its open hours, twenty-nine responded saying they thought Zilker was safe. The one woman who thought it was not safe responded with, “a lot of things are going on… frisbees flying, dogs running, kids playing… it would be really easy to get hurt, but as far as my safety from violence or crime yes I think it is very safe in that regard.” Based on this survey, it appears that most people (if not all) find Zilker Park to be a safe destination during its open hours, which is definitely a factor contributing to the popularity of the park.
Lastly, Zilker Park is social hub and a destination for many events. There are people across the United States and even the world that come to Zilker for the sole purpose of witnessing the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Trail of Lights brings holiday cheer every year. Not only is this a treat to the people of Austin, but it also brings in tourism and adds to Austin’s economy. A study found that the Austin City Limits Festival alone “had an estimated impact of $1.5 billion on the city’s economy since 2006, including a record footprint of $277.4 million from the 2016 event” and these figures are still on the rise (Espinoza, 2017). Zilker Park is a place that fosters social connection through its variety of events. Social connection is essential. Research shows that a person “needs to integrate into society, to make as many contacts in the area where they live, to live together in a safe environment, are facilitated by the existence of green areas, which often represent the appropriate place to meet them” (Cicea et. al, 2011). While I was interviewing people in Zilker, many often mentioned the friendly social atmosphere, where they feel comfortable going up and petting a dog and then then talking with a friendly owner or joining a sand volleyball game with a group of strangers. When asking college students about what makes Zilker a great place, the most common answer was “ACL”. People, especially college students and young adults, love the atmosphere that the musical festival brings and the opportunity to have fun with friends while experiencing music in an outdoor park.
In conclusion, Zilker does a lot of things very well as a public park and doubles as an event venue. Zilker provides a good balance of greenery and nature to promote psychological well-being, while still being open and well-patrolled so that park-goers feel safe. Zilker and other parks are also very effective at getting people outside in order to exercise, which is very beneficial to the community in fighting obesity rates in the current sedentary lifestyle. Lastly, Zilker is a great place to socialize with new people, an old group of friends, or people from all over the world at the ACL festival. I believe that Zilker is a great park that really gives Austin its character and charm while also promoting healthier residents in a healthier city.
Bibliography:
Austin Parks and Recreation (2017). Zilker Metropolitan Park Map. [image] Available at: http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/images/Parks/Parks/Zilker_map_2017_Park_Rangers_final_2018.jpg [Accessed 27 Sep. 2018].
“Austin Trail of Lights III” [Online Image]. (2013). Retrieved September 28, 2018 from http://www.do512family.com/austin-trail-of-lights-iii/
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Bedimo- Rung, A. L. et al. (2005). The Significance of Parks to Physical Activity and Public Health: A Conceptual Model, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28(2), 159–168. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749379704003046
CICEA, C., & PÎRLOGEA, C. (2011). GREEN SPACES AND PUBLIC HEALTH IN URBAN AREAS. Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, 6(1), 83–92. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24873277
Espinoza, R. (2017). Study: Austin CIty Limits Festival a $1.5 Billion Boon to Local Economy Since 2006. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/russespinoza/2017/05/03/study-austin-city-limits-festival-a-1-5-billion-boon-to-local-economy-since-2006/#63256c7b3a91
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Godbey, G. C. et al. (2005). Contributions of Leisure Studies and Recreation and Park Management Research to the Active Living Agenda. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28(2), 150–158. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2004.10.027.
Sherer, P. M. (2003). Why America Needs More City Parks and Open Space. The Trust for Public Land. Retrieved from https://conservationtools-production.s3.amazonaws.com/library_item_files/48/40/parks_for_people_Jan2004.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIQFJLILYGVDR4AMQ&Expires=1537207796&Signature=w1bn37CxHAJRnmQo4XosDZvwyQ4%3D
