The evaluation of the attractiveness of the urban historic parks

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the possibilities of historic urban parks as places of attractiveness. The historical urban parks are nowadays important not only because of their historical heritage, they are also ecosystems that have economic and social value for the community. Historical and cultural developments change these parks, creating their new environments, as the main requirement for their historical development. The formation of cultural elements and landscapes are reflecting the historical development of a given society, as well as the public identity of a place and the city in general. Historic urban parks are a part of a complex urban ecosystem network and provide significant services, so in this research we have selected 7 indicators for the analysis of the historical development of parks on the territory of Riga city. These indicators were applied to six selected historical parks founded in 17^th-19^th centuries that have been former manor areas outside of the city centre. Parks were divided into groups according to their importance: city, district and local community significance where activities take place with different intensity. In the research both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. The study is based on analysis of historical iconography and written sources, a visual inspection of 6 sites in situ, resident survey report analysis, data acquisition and analysis with a GIS support and STATBOX concept for human daily behaviour analysis – the last one demonstrates the role of the parks in the people’s everyday life, especially for the local use. The main indicators used in the analysis of the park development were: the spatial distribution of park, influence of the political and economic processes, historical land ownership structure changes, proximity and accessibility, the quality and design of green areas and available utilities, functionality and variety of activities, and the relation of parks to other public realms. An evaluation method of the attractiveness of urban parks according to the above-mentioned indicators was developed. The results were presented using tabular and statistical data as well as cartographic visualization. The study results highlighted the most valued territories as well as the problem areas.