The Covid pandemic changed the reality of the world, people’s everyday behaviors and habits. But one thing doesn’t seem to have changed: visiting urban parks in Brazil. And the natural parks suffered even more, with a drop in recent visits.
This is what a new research carried out by the Semeia Institute points out. The entity carries out, every biennium, a survey on the perception and relationship of Brazilians with the country’s parks. The institute also helps planning for concessions of these green spaces to the private sector.
The lack of frequency change in the parks draws attention precisely because of the moment the world is experiencing. With the Covid pandemic, outdoor areas are the safest for leisure, meetings and other everyday actions. But the population seems not to have visited more urban and natural parks, according to data collected by Semeia.
The institute’s questionnaire was answered by 1,541 people aged 16 to 70, in ten metropolitan regions across the country, between July 8 and 29, 2021. The margin of error is 2.5 percentage points.
The survey shows, for example, that about 15% of respondents have never been to an urban park. In the survey released by Semeia in 2018, the index was 16%, and, in 2020, 17%.
Regarding frequency, about 18% said they visit parks once a month or once every 15 days. In 2020, the rate was 20%, and in 2018, 28%.
Still, 55% said they frequent urban parks once every six months or less. In 2020 they were 49%, and 42% in 2018.
Semeia does not have a precise explanation for the lack of evolution of visits to parks at a time when, in theory, open spaces would be the logical choice to follow, since meetings and events in closed environments mean a greater risk of contamination.
In any case, the relative stability of visitation is not unique to the pandemic period. It had already been demonstrated in the entity’s previous research. But other factors can also factor into the equation.
Parks were among the public instruments that were closed for months in the pandemic, despite the lower risks of contamination. In São Paulo, for example, green areas were closed in March 2020 and only reopened to the public, with reduced hours, in July of that year.
According to Raquel Stucchi, a professor at Unicamp and a consultant for the SBI (Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases), it was a mistake to close parks during the pandemic. And not only that. There should have been more incentives for visiting outdoor spaces during this period.
Among the obstacles cited by the interviewees for not visiting urban parks, the fact of being away from homes remains in the first place since the beginning of the survey. In second place, in 2022, appears “I’m a homebody, I prefer to stay at home” (the option has always been part of the top 3). Completes the ranking “does not offer security”.
As for natural parks, the percentage of people who have already visited one remains relatively stable. The result of the recently released survey shows that 66% have already visited one of these natural areas. In 2020, it was 65%, and in 2018, 57% (it is worth noting that the error margins of these two previous surveys were higher).
The pandemic, however, seems to have profoundly affected the date of the last visit to natural parks. About 27% of respondents said that the last time they set foot in a natural park was up to a year ago. In 2020, the proportion was 53%.
The percentage of people visiting natural parks several times a year has also dropped: from 32% (2020) to 22% this year.
The barriers to visitation, in this case, have remained practically the same since the first survey launched. In the most recent survey, first is “high travel cost”, followed by “very long travel from where I live” and “high cost of accommodation”.
According to Joice Tolentino, Semeia’s institutional relations manager, this statement, however, may be more linked to an aspect of impression and custom than reality, depending on where the person lives.
“People sometimes, on holiday, are willing to stay six or seven hours in the car to get to the coast”, says Tolentino. “But in two, three hours, almost along the same road, they would reach Itatiaia National Park. In high season and holidays, prices are not low on the beach. Certainly, visiting Itatiaia would be the same or cheaper. “
Itatiaia, which is located between Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, is the first park in the country and was created in 1937.
Tolentino says that the population’s relationship with nature is a cultural characteristic that usually does not change quickly. So, it is to be expected that changes will take time to appear. According to her, a first visit to the parks is essential to change perceptions.
In recent years, several parks, both in São Paulo and nationally, have entered into concession programs to the private sector, in general, for management and visitation care.
Parque do Itatiaia was even granted to the private sector in 2019 and, after that time, the contract has been breached, with no improvements delivered. The company that won the bid went into judicial recovery and claimed difficulties related to the pandemic.
