The Islamic Perspective on Public Parks in Muslim Urban Neighborhoods

Abstract

Designers contribute to assisting the community towards a sustained Islamic lifestyle, their prime responsibility enfolds service for the wellbeing through the concept of an Islamist society. Public parks offer the enjoyment of cultural and social activities. In densely populated areas of Pakistan, people depend on parks for physical and social recreation. There is high visitation during moderate and cold weather with a greater number of females and children. Though it is a space where visitors should feel secure and relaxed, most of the parks do not offer convivial conditions for female visitors because of inefficient privacy, accessibility, and hygiene. This paper has assessed the quality of public parks of Peshawar city, by empirically evaluating their meaningfulness, safety, comfort, and pleasurability through a cultural and religious perspective. The visitation data of two frequently visited public parks of Peshawar are examined for this study. Islamic values such as modesty, cooperation, and justice have been discussed to assess the quality of space. The result of the study can contribute to framing an appropriate planning guideline for open space distress in a Muslim society. The improvement of public parks requires contemplation of privacy, accessibility, and hygiene according to the Islamic teachings for various visitor types.