| The urban sprawl, landscape transformation and fragmentation, spatial inequality, gentrification, social fragmentation and isolation have contributed to societal changes in terms of social contact, physical activity and contact with nature. The crux of the problem lies either in the lack of landscape and urban planning which takes into consideration both environmental and social issues, or in the non-implementation of such planning. Recreational greenways have the potential to mitigate these problems, because they connect the landscape systems with human society. They represent a resilient, new and effective democratic space in the urban and suburban areas that provide a myriad of functions: environmental, social, leisure, recreation and tourism. The greenway characteristics can connect people, landscapes and places thus enabling physical environment conditions that allow the occurrence of social ties, bridges and interactions among users and actors. However, many scholars have confirmed the necessity of more greenway studies that deal with social factors such as interaction, social ties and bridges and behavior. To understand the recreational greenways it is important to recognize the social life linked to them by understanding the relationship between greenway characteristics, social interactions and behaviors. These aspects are crucial to enhance the efficacy of such ecological networks. The main purpose of this study is to describe the social interaction that arises from the greenway environments, by analyzing the different types of social tie and bridge interactions that take place on the recreational greenways. The study hypothesized that recreational greenways create an environment that fosters social networks within the community, which affect and are affected by social interaction, behavior, ties/bridges and cohesion. The type of greenway characteristics may influence the type of user, type of actor, pattern of use and behavior, promoting social integration to differing degrees and among different types of people. Two greenway case studies with the highest volume of use in Cary, NC, were selected in an attempt to provide vital information regarding the capacity of recreational greenways to create and promote social interaction. Multi-methods were utilized, including greenway characteristics audit, social characteristic audit, behavior mapping, standardized survey questionnaire and mapping exercise. This protocol was effective for analyzing interaction, behavior and social ties and bridges on recreational greenways and to understand the relationship between the social network aspects and the greenway characteristics. The data were analyzed with GIS and the use of descriptive statistics and data mining analysis, including decision tree, clustering and regression for complex and large data sets, to present the quantitative and qualitative data that were analyzed to test the research hypotheses and assumptions. The results provided positive insights in terms of correlation of different greenway characteristics and different social network features. The greenway has the potential to bring people together as it provides a matrix of inner and intra interactions between users and actors. The study revealed that people tend to utilize the greenways for socialization pursuits with different types and levels, and may contribute to the development of successful greenway physical environments to promote the positive social network interaction and behaviors. The greenway structural network connection and features when well-designed contribute to social events and contacts, enhancing the quality of life and well-being of its residents. The findings provided useful knowledge for the development of new design norms and to find alternatives that encourage and support social integration and have an impact on social networks and connections, promoting the essential conditions for the establishment of social capital, gathering, lingering and social tie/bridge interactions. The results of this study provided some useful directions for the design guidelines of successful greenways with more functional and efficient characteristics. |
