By Emily Stohr-Gillmore, University of Oregon.
In Oviedo, plazas and public spaces are more important to the citizens in order to socialize and to be outside, than a park on the outskirts of the city. This means that the amenities that need to be offered in a park in order to attract people are plenty of seating and walking space. In effect, the parks in Oviedo resemble plazas.
El Parque de San Francisco, a former convent garden, is located in downtown Oviedo and is an example of a space that it is a mix between a plaza and a park. The location of a park influences the layout, its uses, and the needs as well as the types of people who use the park. Since el Parque de San Francisco is in the midd
le of the city center it offers the amenities of both a plaza and a park. On one side of the park, there is a wide walkway that imitates a linear plaza with benches outlining the edge of the sidewalk, which eventually leads to a large statue and a fountain. Upon entering el Parque de San Francisco there are wide lighted walking paths with benches scattered throughout; these
are a great place to see and be seen. There also many trees, statues, a playground, a kids library, an adult reading room, a duck pond and even a place for peacocks to roam freely. There are also small grassy patches scattered throughout the park, but there is not a patch large enough for children to run around on. I 
call this park a ‘fusion park’ because it encompasses all of the amenities of a plaza in the middle of the city while also providing the natural, out of the city atmosphere of a park .
