Published Paper Details:

Cities are constantly changing in terms of both forms and functions as they enlarge and grow. As new spaces are created, some of them serve more than one purpose. Urban open spaces serve as the crucial foundation for building thriving communities and cities, playing an indispensable role in fostering the physical, social, psychological, and economic wellbeing of their inhabitants. These public areas are instrumental in creating an environment where diverse individuals can actively participate in a wide array of activities, which are vital components of their daily lives. By facilitating inclusive engagement and interaction, urban spaces promote a sense of belonging, encourage social cohesion, and stimulate the growth of vibrant, resilient communities that flourish with cultural exchange, creativity, and progress. These pockets also have possibilities to include trees and vegetation. The types of urban open spaces and their various uses are vast. The most common type among them, is the residential park. Parks are civilized natural open spaces for various functions of the neighbourhood. Their role in an urban precinct has varied greatly over the years according to changing needs and lifestyles of people. The theory of hybridization helps to understand some of these processes, and explains the changes in urban spaces based on functions/programs. This paper is to study how hybridization and multifunctionality can play a role in making a park sustainable for future changes. To determine whether a park is sustainable, it is important to examine the actual reasons that are unique to each park and account for its longevity. It is critical to investigate what can be done to make parks last or sustain. People are catered to in parks, so understanding what people want from parks, how they perceive them, what they use them for, and what role parks and their spaces play for their users, will help in identifying the problems in parks today and how to bring about changes to cater to a wider user group. Using four parks in Chennai as case studies, they are analysed to better understand user needs and behaviour, as well as ways to improve the parks and their surroundings via a user survey. The identified problems are linked to the literature review in order to arrive at potential solutions that are later recommended. Based on an analysis of park elements that satisfy different protected needs of people, as well as the growing need for development in cities today, a conclusion is drawn highlighting the need for multifunctionality in parks today to enhance its people-based surroundings as opposed to the consumerism-based leisure and entertainment spaces in contemporary malls and other spaces.