When perception is reality: examining perceived accessibility of recreational public spaces through social space production

Social space production theorizes space as a socially constructed phenomenon, comprising of the expectations of society, technical design decisions, and the physical features that result. This theorization of space is especially relevant to recreational public spaces (e.g. parks, playgrounds, community centres) in low-income settings. This is because, the power linkages between technical decisions and neo-capitalist influence, have in some instances, translated to physical features for recreation that do not meet societal expectations or ideals on use. However, recognized opportunities of use (i.e. perceived accessibility) are yet to be examined through the physical, technical, and social facets that collectively guide considerations, as theorized in social space production. Our study hence adopts social space production as a lens to examine perceived accessibility to public recreational spaces in low-income residential contexts. Participatory mapping interviews with resident leads in a low-income residential context in the United States, revealed three thematic considerations. The themes were namely: physical ease of use, planning and design experiences, and social interactions with and within space. Our findings demonstrate that multifaceted considerations, which are pertinent to physical, technical, and social aspects of social space production, are informative to perceived accessibility.