Official Journal of ISPAH www.JPAH-Journal.com ORIGINAL RESEARCH 58 Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 2015, 12, 58 -67 http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2012-0482 © 2015 Human Kinetics, Inc. Fermino (rogeriofermino@hotmail.com) is with the Dept of Physical Education, Federal University of Technology—Parana, Curitiba, Brazil. Reis is with the Dept of Physical Education, Pontiff Catholic University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil. Hallal is with the Postgraduate Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil. Kaczynski is with the Dept of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC. Who Are the Users of Urban Parks? A Study With Adults From Curitiba, Brazil Rogerio Fermino, Rodrigo Reis, Pedro C. Hallal, and Andrew T. Kaczynski Background: The aim of this study was to analyze how sociodemographic characteristics, health, characteristics of quality of life, and perceptions of places are associated with park use in Curitiba, Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional study with face-to- face interviews was conducted with 1461 adults who lived within the area of 500 m near 8 parks. The survey included questions about gender, age, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, body mass index, perceived health, number of morbidities, perception of quality of life, physical environment, leisure opportunities, self-satisfaction, and satisfaction with the park. The use of a speciic park near the residence was identiied as 1 of 3 outcomes: park use versus nonuse, park use ≥ 1 time/wk, and park use ≥ 3 times/wk. Poisson regression was used to examine associations between the independent variables and each level of park use. Results: Overall park use (60.9%) and ≥ 1 time/wk (32.2%) and ≥ 3 times/wk use (16.8%) were associated with age and leisure opportunities. Leisure opportunities and park satisfaction were related to more frequent visits to these outdoor areas. Conclusions: These results can be used in guiding interventions that improve the quality of parks and other outdoor areas and offer leisure opportunities to the community. Keywords: green areas, public open spaces, built environment, communities, epidemiological studies The rapid urbanization experienced by middle-income coun- tries over the last decades has been accompanied by a reduction in green areas and public open spaces within the cities, as well as changes in the social and behavior patterns in many communities. 1,2 Among these changes, increases in private motorized transport and physical inactivity (eg, speciically in leisure and commute) have been linked with negative aspects of health, such as overweight and stress. 2 In this context, public open spaces, such as urban parks, have the potential to prevent the negative consequences associated with this rapid urbanization process. For instance, communities may ind in urban parks a place for residents to spend their leisure time and increase contact with green areas, to walk with their family, or to practice physical activities. 3 There is compelling evidence showing that the use of parks is associated with higher levels of physical activity (PA) as well as physical, psychological, and social beneits for users. 3–5 Despite this potential, not much is known about patterns of park usage in low- and middle-income countries. Evidence from high- income countries such as the United States and Australia show that, in general, 1 in 3 people perform regular PA in urban parks, 6–8 and that individual (eg, gender male, younger age, higher schooling), environmental (eg, park proximity, PA facilities, park density), and social characteristics (eg, social capital and opportunities for social- izing) are positively associated with park usage. 7,9–13 To date, there is little evidence about the use of parks in Latin America (LA) and other low- and middle-income regions. In Brazil, the available evi- dence suggests that parks are used more often by adults, physically active men, and highly educated individuals, 14–16 which is somewhat similar to indings from high-income countries. However, in low- and middle-income countries, such as those located in LA, speciic social characteristics may affect park use. For instance, LA presents the highest rates of urbanization and social inequality in the world, and these characteristics have been linked with the increase in physical inactivity, particularly during leisure time. 17 Additionally, the cost of land in the areas surrounding parks and other urban green areas is usually higher when compared with other areas where park availability is lower, 3 which might undermine park access and its use for leisure time and PA purposes among low-income populations. The evidence from studies conducted in Brazil is limited to parks selected without representativeness criteria and is restricted to a few cities. 14–16 In addition, there is no evidence on whether park characteristics (eg, park quality) and personal attributes (eg, health status) are associated with the use of these places. For example, high-risk populations (eg, persons with clinical conditions) may be advised by their physician to practice PA and could use local parks for this purpose. 18 Curitiba, Brazil, has been recognized as a model city for adopt- ing urban planning strategies that prioritize the construction of and access to parks, plazas (urban pocket parks), and other public open spaces (eg, gymnasiums, community centers) as places for leisure activities and public services. 1,19 It is estimated that almost half of the adult population in Curitiba visit parks and plazas for PA pur- poses. 20 However, there is a dearth of information about individual characteristics of users, patterns of usage, and perceived quality of those spaces. An understanding of these characteristics could be used to inform stakeholders to guide their actions toward promot- ing park usage and PA. The aim of this study was to identify how sociodemographic, health, and quality of life characteristics, as well as perceptions of parks, are associated with patterns of park usage in adults in Curitiba.