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Greenspace facilities are contributing to an important extent to the quality of the urban environment. Fortunately it is longer necessary that every lecture or every book about this subject has to start with the proof of this idea. At present it is accepted, although more as a self-evident statement on the basis of a closely-reasoned scientific proof. The recognition of the importance of greenspaces in the urban environmen t is the step on the right way; this does not , however, that sufficient details are known about the functions of greenspace in towns and about the way in which the inhabitants are using these spaces. As to this rather complex subject I shall, within the of this lecture, enter into one aspect only, namely the recreative function of greenspace facilities. The theoretical separation of , working, traffic and recreation which for many years has been used in town-and-country planning, has in my resulted in disproportionate attention for forms of recreation far from home whereas there was relatively attention for improvement of recreative possibilities in the direct neighbourhood of the home. We have to the conclusion that this is not right, because an important part of the time which we do no pass in sleeping or working, is used for at and around home. So it is obvious that recreation in the open has to begin at the street-door of the house. The urban environment has to offer as many recreation activities as , and the design of these has to be such that more obligatory activities can also have a recreative aspect. | 
