'Borrowing' Parks : an analysis of organised events and attachment to Urban Parks, Johannesburg

Abstract

Since the start of planned park developments, parks have been considered the spatial and social ‘fixes’ to the cultural, political, economic, and environmental challenges of cities. This is even more pronounced in dynamic cities of the global South. Steering away from romanticised ‘lungs of the city’ and ‘city escape’ conceptualizations, parks are also productive and dynamic spaces in which a variety of ideals, expectations and needs are enacted and negotiated daily by different ‘park actors’ and practices. One such ‘park practice’ is the set of organised events hosted in public parks. This research employs the ever-popular parkrun ‘move-ment’ as its case study. The parkrun has since its inception in 2004 in the UK, ‘borrowed’ parks and park-like venues to accommodate thousands of avid participants and volunteers weekly on Saturday mornings for a five-kilometre walk, jog or run. Today, it takes place across 22 countries globally. Contextualized within the city of Johannesburg and during the Covid-19 pandemic, this mixed-methods research draws on primary and secondary data from online questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, social media and online desktop research to unpack three unique parkrun case studies, namely the younger and smaller Mapetla parkrun and the older and larger Roodepoort and Delta parkruns. The research explores how the parkrun ‘move-ment’ has ‘event-tualised’ and resulted in an indirect (re)discovery and (re)appreciation of parks through the creation of a temporary event space, as a ‘third place’ and ‘communitas’. For participants and volunteers, the event carries immense significance, with a strong attachment underpinned mostly by social and community-related benefits. The ‘borrowed’ park is synonymous with the parkrun, while park attachment and sense of belonging relate mostly to the fostered attachment to the event and community. This is especially the case for the Mapetla and Roodepoort parkruns. For the Delta parkrun, the park itself provides a wider variety of alternative core functions. Event and park attachment are also directly enhanced by event loyalty. However, both a positive event and park attachment, as facilitated by the parkrun, do not necessarily translate into an investment in park maintenance and positive environmental behaviours for purposes and at times outside of the parkrun. Active environmental care is motivated mostly by the need to ensure the sustainability of the event. Nevertheless, the ‘borrowed’ parks benefit from the subsequent knock-on effects of the weekly parkrun influx that include but are not limited to donation drives, community celebrations, positive park marketing and clean-ups.

Sedert die aanvang van beplande parkontwikkeling is parke beskou as die ruimtelike en sosiale “oplossings” vir die kulturele, politieke, ekonomiese en omgewingsuitdagings van stede. Dit is selfs meer prominent in dinamiese stede van die globale Suide. Indien mens wegkom van die geromantiseerde konseptualisering van parke as die “longe van die stad” en “stadsonvlugting’, is parke ook produktiewe en dinamiese ruimtes waarin verskeie ideale, verwagtinge en behoeftes daagliks deur verskillende “parkakteurs” en -praktyke uitgevoer en onderhandel word. Een so ’n “parkpraktyk” is ’n stel georganiseerde geleenthede wat in openbare parke aangebied word. Hierdie navorsing gebruik die immer gewilde parkrun “beweging” as gevallestudie. Sedert die ontstaan daarvan in die Verenigde Koninkryk in 2004, het die parkrun parke en parkagtige plekke “geleen” om duisende ywerige deelnemers en vrywilligers weekliks op Saterdagoggende te akkommodeer vir ’n vyfkilometer-stap of draf. Vandag vind dit in 22 lande wêreldwyd plaas. Gekontekstualiseer binne die stad van Johannesburg tydens die COVID-19-pandemie, gebruik hierdie gemengde-metodenavorsing primêre en sekondêre data van aanlyn vraelyste, semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude, sosiale media en aanlyn rekenaarnavorsing om drie unieke parkrun-gevallestudies te ondersoek, naamlik die nuwer en kleiner Mapetla parkrun en die ouer en groter Roodepoort en Delta parkrun. Die navorsing ondersoek hoe die parkrun “beweging” “ge-eventualiseer” is en gelei het tot ’n indirekte (her)ontdekking en (her)waardering van parke deur die skepping van ’n tydelike geleentheidsruimte as ’n “derde plek” en “communitas”. Vir deelnemers en vrywilligers, het die geleentheid ontsaglike betekenis, met ’n sterk gehegtheid wat hoofsaaklik onderlê word deur sosiale en gemeenskapsverwante voordele. Die “geleende” park is sinoniem met die parkrun, terwyl parkgehegtheid en die gevoel van behoort aan meestal verband hou met die aangewakkerde gehegtheid aan die geleentheid en gemeenskap. Dit is veral die geval vir die Mapetla en Roodepoort parkrun. Vir die Delta parkrun bied die park ’n selfs groter verskeidenheid alternatiewe kernfunksies. Geleentheid- en parkgehegtheid word ook regstreeks versterk deur geleentheidslojaliteit. Beide ’n positiewe geleentheid en parkgehegtheid, soos gefasiliteer deur die parkrun, impliseer egter nie noodwendig ’n belegging in parkinstandhouding en positiewe omgewingsgedrag vir doeleindes van en buite die parkrun nie. Aktiewe omgewingsorg word meestal aangewakker deur die behoefte om die volhoubaarheid van die geleentheid te verseker. Nietemin vind “geleende” parke baat by die daaropvolgende impak van die weeklikse parkruntoestroming wat insluit, maar nie beperk is nie tot, skenkingsveldtogte, gemeenskapsfeesviering, positiewe parkbemarking en skoonmaakveldtogte.

Go tloga mathomong a maano a go tlhabolla diphaka tša bosetšhaba, diphaka tša tikologo di ka šomišwa bjalo ka mafelo a boiketlo le go swara dikopano le setšhaba go rarolla mathata a motsesetoropo ao a amanago le tša setšo, dipolotiki le ekonomi. Se se bonagala kudu go metsesetoropo yeo e golago ka lebelo tikologong ya ka Borwa. Go tlaleletša go didirišwa tša diphaka tšeo di tlwaelegilego bjalo ka mafelo a baratani goba ‘mafelo a bohlokwa a motsesetoropo’ le ‘mafelo a boiketlo a motsesetoropo’ diphaka di ka šomišwa bjalo ka mafelo a go swara dikopano goba meletlo ya setšhaba yeo e rulagantšwego. Nyakišišo ye e sekasekile tšhomišo ya diphaka bjalo ka mafelo ao setšhaba se ba go le parkrun. Go tloga ge parkrun e tsebagatšwa ka 2004 kua UK, diphaka tša setšhaba di šomišetšwa diparkrun ka Mokibelo wo mongwe le wo mongwe mesong. Batho ba na le kgetho ya go kitima goba go sepela dikilometara tše hlano. Ga bjale, se se diragala dinageng tše 22 lefaseng ka bophara. Nyakišišo ye e dirilwe Johannesburg ka nako ya Covid-19. Nyakišišo e šomišitše mokgwa wo o kopantšwego go kgoboketša datha go tšwa go batšeakarolo ka dipotšišo tša onelaene, dipoledišano, mediya wa setšhaba, le ka dinyakišišo tša inthaneteng. Nyakišišo e sekasekile parkrun ditikologong tše tharo: parkrun ye nnyane ya Mapetla ye e thomilwego malobanyana, le diparkrun tše dikgolo tšeo e lego kgale di le gona ka Roodepoort le Delta. Maikemišetšo a nyakišišo ke go laetša gore ‘move-ment’ wa parkrun o thomile bjang le seabe sa wona go tlhabollo ya diphaka le go hlola kgahlego ya go šomiša diphaka bjalo ka mafelo ao a ka swarelago ditiragalo tša setšhaba nakwana. Batšeakarolo le baithaopi ba hlompha peakanyo ye ka lebaka la dipenefiti tša yona go setšhaba le tikologo. Diphaka di tumile bjalo ka mafelo ao go bago le parkrun le go kopantšha setšhaba, bjalo ka diphaka tša Mapetla le Roodepoort. Phaka ya Delta e šomišetšwa mabaka a mmalwa. Badudi ba šomiša diphaka go ya ka kamano ya bona le parkrun ya le lefelong leo. Dikutullo tša nyakišišo di laeditše gore parkrun e tliša maitemogelo a mabotse a setšhaba le diphaka, eupsa se ga se netefatše phepafatšo le hlokomelo ya maleba ya diphaka. Tlhabollo le hlokomelo ya diphaka tša setšhaba ke hlokego go kgona go netefatša tšhomišo ya go ya go ile. Diphaka tšeo di šomišwago ke setšhaba di itirela letseno ka parkrun le ka meletlo goba dikopano tša setšhaba, go bapatša diphaka le ka masolo a go hlwekiša diphaka ka lebaka la parkrun yeo e ba go beke le beke.