Relation between visitors’ behaviour and characteristics of green spaces in the city of Granada,south-eastern Spain

This paper examines the relation between visitor behaviour and certain features of a number of major green spaces in the city of Granada, south-eastern Spain, focussing on key urban, ecological and landscape-related issues. Information on user profiles and numbers, the various uses made of these areas, their design, plant species richness and local urban and sociological background, was collected by means of in situ observation in a total of ten urban green spaces with surface areas of over 5000 m². Findings indicated that these spaces were used largely for purposes directly related to well-being: recreational and sporting activities, socialising, or simply relaxing. Interestingly, the most common activities in each space were governed by features intrinsic to the space itself: accessibility, design, maintenance and plant richness and distribution, all of which affected the health-related attributes and aesthetic value of the space. The study also highlighted a number of serious deficiencies in certain green spaces, which will need to be addressed in future action plans and replanning projects as an essential step in ensuring that they meet the real needs and expectations of the target population. The information provided by this research may prove particularly valuable for improving the systemic functions of green spaces in Mediterranean cities sharing similar bioclimatic and sociological features, and for ensuring that they fulfil the role assigned to green spaces in sustainable cities.     

Willingness of residents to pay and motives for conservation of urban green spaces in the compact city of Hong Kong

People attach multiple values to urban green spaces which play varied roles in cities. Properly designed monetary valuation surveys can ascertain their non-market value and underlying motives. This study investigates Hong Kong residents’ recreational use of urban green spaces and assesses the monetary value of these areas. A total of 495 urban residents from different neighbourhoods and socio-economic groups were interviewed. About 70% of the respondents visited urban green spaces at least weekly. Major companions during patronage were family members and then children. Exercises and clean air topped the list of visit purposes. The recreational pattern is associated with the cramped private living condition that pushes people to public open areas which are construed as extension of home space. The valuation question solicited overwhelming support, with over 80% of the respondents willing to pay to recover a possible loss of urban green spaces area by 20%. It yielded a monthly average payment of HK$77.43 (approx. 9.90 USD) per household for five years. Non-instrumental aspects played some role in the respondents’ bidding decision. The findings could assist green space planning and nature conservation, and hinted the need to consider the pluralistic community views and expectations in relevant public policies.     

The landscape of urban cemeteries in Beirut: Perceptions and preferences

Cemeteries constitute some of oldest and largest green and open spaces in Beirut. With the rapid densification of the city, and the extensive loss of green space, understanding the potential of these sites, as multifunctional landscapes, is critical for the health and sustainability of the city. Few studies on cemeteries have investigated the social and recreational values of these specific spaces, focusing mainly on the observation of the existing users and their current activities on site. As far as we know, none have examined how potential users may perceive them and what they may see as attractive in them. This exploratory study aims to investigate different perceptions of urban cemeteries in Beirut and identify preferred characteristics and landscape features that render them attractive green spaces. Face-to face interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire and a photo-sorting exercise were conducted with 29 participants. Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed that not all cemeteries are perceived in the same way and that the presence of greenery, stewardship through organization, maintenance and care, as well as restorative qualities linked to privacy and the sense of being away from the city, were main criteria for positive perception and preference. Crowdedness, unequal treatment of dead and intrusion from surrounding context, both physically and ideologically were perceived as negative constructs and were linked to the least preferred images of cemeteries. While religious affiliations did not seem to impact preference or perception, the presence of political influence through signs and symbols was highly condemned within urban cemeteries.     

Public green spaces and human wellbeing: Mapping the spatial inequity and mismatching status of public green space in the Central City of Shanghai

Public green spaces are fundamental and indispensable to urban settlements, given the diverse social, economic and environmental benefits that they can provide. However, the absence of knowledge regarding the allocation and access status quo consistently hinders the suitability and rationality of follow-up green space planning, which could eventually impair the livability and sustainability of cities. This study evaluates disparities in access to public green space for urban residents and the spatial mismatches among public green space provision, residents’ visits and the demands of socially vulnerable groups within the Central City of Shanghai. The results show that disparities in public green space accessibility exist pertaining to social status and household composition status. Sub-districts with higher social status or larger proportions of family households composed by children and married inhabitants tend to have better public green space access. In contrast, sub-districts with larger proportions of aged or unemployed populations unexpectedly show worse public green space access. To a certain degree, this reduced access can be considered to be an environmental injustice. Additionally, the mismatches among public green space provision, residents’ visits and the demands of socially vulnerable groups are observed to vary in space, indicating potential problems of resource shortage, supply-demand mismatch, underuse and congestion. The findings could offer urban planners and policy-makers insights into optimizing public green space resources and equitably providing proximal public green space to urban residents, especially vulnerable groups, such as children, the elderly and the unemployed.     

Design guidelines for the Dashilar,Beijing Open Green Space Redevelopment Project

When an urban redevelopment project is planned, the design needs to reflect the preferences of the users of the planned space. In China, however, the preferences of residents have rarely been reflected in projects dealing with public places such as open green spaces in urban settings. This paper employs three independent conjoint analyses covering components of open green space, including locational conditions, physical conditions, and greenery conditions in order to propose the most preferable design for a new open green space. The results of choice simulation showed that the users prefer the private garden style to the general public park style for the new open green space in Dashilar. Our research with three independent conjoint analyses is expected to provide specific guidelines for open green space design as a whole, which is intended to satisfy potential users of the space.     

The effects of urban greenway environment on recreational activities in tropical high-density Singapore: A computer vision approach

The urban greenway has been increasingly recognised as an important type of green infrastructure especially for land-scarce, densely-populated cities to efficiently provide their residents with continuous public spaces close to nature for recreation. Nevertheless, empirical studies on urban greenways and their recreational use rarely focus on high-density environment. Moreover, most research endeavours in this field are also largely confined to the subtropical climate, whereas much of the world’s future urban growth is projected to occur in the form of high-density mega-cities in much of tropical South and Southeast Asia. In view of these gaps, this study proposes a new approach that employs Computer Vision tools to examine the effects of the greenway’s physical environment on recreational activities, taking tropical Singapore as the test bed. The semantic segmentation model, PSPNet and the action detection model, ACAM are adapted and applied in conjunction with geographical information system tools to measure the greenway’s physical environment and people’s recreational activity at the human scale, and analyse their relationships. The result reveals a pattern that sees the clustering of different types of recreational activities at different time periods. It also reveals the relationships between recreational activities and specific environmental features, which were observed to have influenced the overall spatial distributions of the recreational activities. The finding also corroborates the design strategies for Singapore’s future urban greenways and offers a reference for engaging community groups to participate in the maintenance of urban greenways.     

Landscape perception and recreation needs in urban green space in Fuyang,Hangzhou, China

This study analyzes the landscape characteristics and the residents’ recreational activities in the urban green spaces in Fuyang, Hangzhou, China. It explores the correlation of the desire to be in close proximity to urban green space to engage in recreational activities (the need for recreation) related to residents’ demographic and socio-economic factors: gender, education, monthly income and dwelling location. Residents’ preferences for landscape elements and attributes of urban green space are examined using principal components analysis. In addition, regression analysis identifies that coherence and vegetation are the most relevant factors correlated with perceived overall recreational appropriateness of the three most frequently visited urban parks. The purpose of the study is to attempt to quantify people's recreation needs in urban green space; identify the landscape components in urban green space which can encourage more outdoor visits and/or greater recreational activities; and provide proposals and strategies on planning, management and conservation for recreation-oriented urban green space which will enhance people's enjoyment and wellbeing by improving landscape esthetic quality, recreational and ecological function.     

Attitude and willingness toward participation in decision-making of urban green spaces in China

Urban green spaces serve a variety of residents with various perceptions, preferences and demands. Their effective governance and precision provision increasingly require public input. Due to the unique political regime, public decision-making in China has long been controlled by governments with the public neglected. With increasing civic consciousness in recent years in urban China, this research investigated attitudes and willingness toward participation in planning, management and design of urban green spaces in Guangzhou. Face-to-face questionnaire surveys were conducted at the 24 green sites across the city with 595 respondents successfully interviewed. The results demonstrated the positive attitudes and strong willingness toward participation despite socioeconomic variations, fitting into a global trend of increasing civic consciousness and strengthening the theoretical base of public participation. Practically, the positive findings lay a sound social foundation for the participatory decision-making in urban China, and help to drive local governments more open and inclusive and develop effective governance strategies and mechanisms to promote public participation in decision-making of urban green spaces.     

A multiple scale,function, and type approach to determine and improve Green Infrastructure of urban watersheds

Green Infrastructure (GI) connects different types of green features via various scales, thereby supporting urban biodiversity and service provision. This study presents a methodology capable of identifying multiple functions to assess GI in less-developed countries, where such methodologies are lacking. GI was assessed based on a high-resolution land use classification using both landscape metrics and spatial data within an urbanized region of San José, Costa Rica, at different scales (watershed, neighbourhood, object). Results showed highly fragmented green spaces (often <10 ha), typically unable to support high levels of biodiversity, along with a low amount of green space per inhabitant (<7.4 m²) within the watershed. Substantially higher tree cover (x6) and tree density (x5) were found in the greenest neighbourhood in comparison to the least green neighbourhood. Potential areas for new GI in the form of green roofs (4.03 ha), permeable pavement (27.3), and potential retention areas (85.3) were determined. Several green spaces (n = 11) were identified as promising GI sites with the potential to increase provision (18.6 m²/inhabitant). The adopted methodology demonstrates the potential of GI for increasing recreational green space access, runoff reduction, and flood retentions while supporting biodiversity, validating its utility in guiding decision-making and policy generation.     

Qualities and functions ascribed to urban cemeteries across the capital cities of Scandinavia

Cemeteries are not only burial places that provide a public service. They are also green urban spaces with cultural and natural qualities and could be integrated into the green infrastructure planning system. In this study, we explore the extent to which environmental qualities and functions are ascribed to urban cemeteries in the municipal master plans, green infrastructure plans and websites of the capital cities of Scandinavia. In addition, we conduct a focus-group interview in Oslo with six municipal employees representing green space planning/management, cultural heritage and cemetery administration/management, focusing on a broad perspective of qualities ascribed to urban cemeteries. The document study shows that, across the Scandinavian countries, cemeteries are mainly included in the concept of green infrastructure but they are not ascribed qualities similar to those ascribed to public green spaces; instead, most qualities are related to cultural history. However, Copenhagen municipality has a more inclusive approach, describing the cemeteries as green spaces and inviting people to use them for recreational purposes. The municipality even has a policy document with a strategy on how to combine the primary function of a burial site with new needs for recreational space. In the focus-group interview, cemeteries are described as static places, peaceful and quiet places, green spaces, spaces in which to experience darkness, and places for all (multiple use). There is relatively high agreement among interviewees about the recreational qualities of cemeteries, even though the cemetery administration/management emphasizes several times that its main focus is on accommodating the bereaved and their relatives. In the discussion, we focus on differences between the different Scandinavian countries in the qualities and functions ascribed to cemeteries, and examine potential explanations for why cemeteries are mostly described as green spaces, part of the green infrastructure, but treated as private green spaces in the urban planning context.     

Users’ recreation choices and setting preferences for trails in urban forests in Nanjing,China

With increased demand for outdoor recreational spaces, it is imperative to understand the experience of recreational hikers. This study explored users’ recreation choices and behavior-based setting preferences for certain trails in one forest park. Using on-site intercept surveys, a total of 1019 samples were collected from users of hiking trails and greenways in Purple Mountain Forest Park, Nanjing, China. The results from multiple regressions revealed that visitors’ recreation choices for trail settings, companions, and activities were associated with personal attributes, usage patterns, visitor motivations, and their preferences for the trail’s landscape attributes. The findings provide insights for the design and maintenance of trail settings in forest parks to satisfy the needs of various recreational hikers.     

Protest response and contingent valuation of an urban forest park in Fuzhou City,China

Urban forest parks, such as Fuzhou National Forest Park (FNFP), provide residents with landscape amenities, recreational opportunities, and interaction with nature. Understanding the recreational quality of green spaces and visitors’ behaviors and preferences is essential for effective forest park conservation strategy. We aimed to assess the recreational use and amenities of FNFP and calculate the monetary value of provided services using a contingent valuation method (CVM). A total of 249 park visitors were interviewed face-to-face based on a questionnaire using entrance fee as the payment vehicle, in October 2015 and January 2016. A considerable number of protest responses may cause selectivity bias; consequently, we used models excluding protest zeros. Sample selection models were estimated using Heckman’s two-step and full information maximum likelihood methods The average willingness-to-pay (WTP) was estimated to be 13.79 RMB (equivalent to 2.00 USD) for the unconditional model, and the lower mean values were estimated for two selectivity bias corrected models. In this case, park visitors would be willing to pay an average 11.6 RMB (equivalent to 1.69 USD) per person according to the full information maximum likelihood estimate and an average 10.96 RMB (equivalent to 1.60 USD) per person by the two-step method. Respondents’ satisfaction of forest park facilities and service significantly influenced their WTP value for forest park improvements. Socio-demographic features could not effectively discriminate the protest bidders and the other non-protest bidders. Our results suggest that protesters may value the resource less than positive bidders. The high percentage of protest respondents may be due to the current free use of FNFP and payment vehicle of entrance fee. The CVM approach takes residents’ preferences into consideration and allows the study of heterogenous socio-demographic groups; thus, our data may help to develop effective management plans for improving urban forest parks in China.     

Combining the preferences of residents for neighborhood green spaces and conservation of avian diversity: Case study from Beijing

Cities in China support higher human population densities compared to those in western countries; consequently, the high pressure placed on cultural ecosystem services (CES) provision of residential green spaces might hinder overall human wellbeing and the maintenance of avian diversity. Thus, this study aimed to identify how to meet the main preferences of citizens for residential green spaces while simultaneously enhancing bird diversity in city neighborhoods, generating a win-win scenario for human needs and biodiversity. This study was implemented using 568 questionnaires for residents and GLMM for bird-environment statistical analyses. Residents in Beijing preferred higher levels of bird species richness than individual abundance in neighborhoods. Residential green space appeared to serve as the movement corridor for some rare species, indicating the importance of promoting the presence of migrant bird guilds, which is currently incidental. The cultivation of fruit-bearing shrubby plants was supported by most city residents, and would also promote the presence of migratory birds in green spaces. In contrast, while increasing the width of residential green spaces would benefit migratory birds, it had less public support. This multi-disciplinary study clearly demonstrated that both the quality of life of humans in cities and biodiversity conservation could be efficiently incorporated in green space plans, even under highly urbanized circumstances.     

Spatial impacts of multimodal accessibility to green spaces on housing price in Cook County,Illinois

This study explores the impacts of multimodal accessibility to green space on housing price. Quantifying the benefits of green space accessibility is important for supporting green infrastructure planning and guiding land use development. In this study, we calculate multimodal travel times (walking and driving) from each residential property in Cook County (Chicago metro), Illinois to each articulated (public or significant private) green space. A gravity-model based method is used to compute accessibility (by travel mode), which considers the access to multiple green spaces and weights prioritization. Green spaces are divided into seven categories depending on their type and size to differentiate their potential benefits. Hedonic models using housing structural features, locational attributes, socio-economic factors and green space accessibility as explanatory variables, are used to evaluate housing price (using housing transactions records from 2010 sales in the county). The spatial effects of green space accessibilities on housing prices are explored by an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, with and without fixed locational effects, and a Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). Results show walking and driving accessibility to all sizes of recreational, medium conversational and private green spaces present positive impacts on housing price, with some negative impacts to larger (and smaller) conservation areas. The relationship also exhibits different heterogeneous spatial pattern over the study area between walking and driving accessibility to green space, possibly related to economic variation.     

Perceptions of parks and urban derelict land by landscape planners and residents

As urban green spaces are important for residential satisfaction, human preferences are a key criterion in their design. However, preferences may vary between landscape planners and residents, which may result in differences between residents’ demands and the actual design. With urban derelict land becoming an important part of the urban green infrastructure, information about the perception and acceptance by residents compared to formal urban parks is important for their planning and design. It was thus examined how different types of urban green spaces are perceived by landscape planners and residents. Criteria for the classification of green spaces used by both participant groups were compared, as were the criteria that influenced preference.Participants sorted and rated photographs of parks and urban derelict land in two different tasks. Hierarchical cluster analyses and multidimensional scaling analyses were used to characterize the participants’ perceptual space. By conducting multiple regression analyses the resulting perceptual dimensions were related to preference.The identified perceptual criteria used to distinguish green spaces were degree of canopy closure, artificiality vs. naturalness, prospect, physical accessibility, and beauty. For residents, the degree of canopy closure was the most important criterion for classification; for landscape planners, it was artificiality. Preferences varied between groups: whereas landscape planners preferred rather natural areas with low accessibility and high species richness, the residents showed a greater preference for formal parks.As a practical implication, the study suggests that residents generally accept urban derelict land as recreational areas if a minimum of maintenance and accessibility is provided. When designing green spaces, landscape planners may consider these differences in their preferences compared to residents.     

保定市开放型绿地空间使用情况调查及对策

在对保定市区开放型绿地空间的实地调研以及在对游人使用情况调查资料归纳整理的基础上,对保定市的开放型绿地空间存在的问题进行了分析,提出了改进对策,以期今后绿地空间的设计中能充分考虑游人行为特点,使城市绿地空间建设更加符合游人行为特点和需求,最终探索如何营造更适宜人使用的开放型绿地空间类型。     

Shortcuts in urban green spaces: An analysis of incidental nature experiences associated with active mobility trips

Nature experiences and active mobility both deliver well-being and health benefits but have rarely been investigated together. Conceptualizations of nature experiences largely focus on intention, and the planned motivations for visits. However, nature experiences can also be perceived incidentally, if daily living activities like trips are encouraged towards green spaces. In a public participation GIS (PPGIS) survey of five local districts in Copenhagen, 517 respondents mapped 688 places along their walking or cycling shortcut trips through green spaces. This study investigated what types of green space provide opportunities for such shortcuts, what incidental nature experiences can be perceived there and the different responses of pedestrians and cyclists. This study also explored the relation between incidental nature experiences and green space characteristics in the form of tree cover density. Lastly, this study explored whether frequent short trips through green spaces relate to nature connectedness. The results show that public green spaces and urban cemeteries in Copenhagen allow for such shortcut trips. Enjoyment of pleasing views is the most perceived incidental nature experience. Pedestrians are found more prone to experience surprise, inspiration and emotion, while cyclists prefer shortcuts close to water, which they value highly. The study suggests that high tree cover density is key to delivering incidental nature experiences. Furthermore, the study shows that people who make frequent trips through green spaces have higher levels of nature connectedness, indicating that incidental nature experiences during shortcut trips trigger the reconnection of people and nature. The study’s results support a synergistic approach to integrating green spaces and active mobility in planning and management practice, where incidental nature experiences should be emphasized.     

The effects of naturalness,gender, and age on how urban green space is perceived and used

Neighbourhood green space serves an important function for the urban population, and provides valuable ecosystem services for human well-being. In this article, we investigate the effects of naturalness, gender, and age on the activities, aesthetics, and self-reported well-being associated with urban green space. Our findings are based on a postal survey of residents living in close proximity to six different green spaces in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden. It is shown that higher perceived naturalness generated more activities and higher aesthetic values and self-reported well-being for residents living close to urban green spaces. The results also indicated that, regardless of the type of naturalness, women were more active in urban green spaces than were men. Women also saw greater aesthetic value in green spaces than men did, and had higher self-reported well-being associated with the urban green spaces. Finally, older residents were shown to participate in a greater number of nature-related activities than younger residents. Older residents also saw greater aesthetic values and had higher self-reported well-being associated with urban green spaces than younger people did. Seemingly, this poses a considerable planning challenge if areas of perceived naturalness are to be retained in cities, since the present trend is for reduced green spaces in cities and a ‘parkification’ of surviving natural areas. Further, because of the importance of perceived natural areas to the elderly, and in particularly women, distances to urban green areas should not be too great.     

Benches,fountains and trees: Using mixed-methods with questionnaire and smartphone data to design urban green spaces

Smartphones can help researchers track how people use green spaces and understand how design features impact their behaviors. However, when using this data to evaluate green space designs, researchers should be aware of human perceptions of the features within these environments. We contribute a mixed method approach that allows for comparison between how people report using green space features intended to support wellbeing, with how often they are used in common daily routines. As an illustration of this approach, we present the results of a case study conducted on a university campus that compares how outdoor design features are used by students with how these features are reported as being used. Specifically, we compare perceptions of 362 students about which campus design features create a sense of wellbeing, and which are near locations they report using, with the use of these features recorded by the smartphones of a separate group of 62 students. We found that there were large differences between locations students reported using, and locations tracked students used regularly. Features that were used more often during daily routines (low walls, food retail outlets), did not match features reported as helping create a sense of wellbeing in the questionnaire (benches, trees, and sunshine). Of all the design features we modeled, only water features were positively associated with use in the tracking data and supportive of wellbeing in the questionnaire data. Our findings point to the importance of using tracking data together with response data from questionnaires in mixed-method studies if designers want to locate features that the public consider as supportive to their wellbeing, in locations that will be regularly used.     

Relationships between students’ demographic characteristics,perceived naturalness and patterns of use associated with campus green space,and self-rated restoration and health

There is increasing awareness of the benefits of campus green space in promoting student's health. However, information on how campus green spaces benefit students’ health is insufficient or limited to guide the planning or management process. As a result, the present study collected 897 valid responses to examine the differences in campus green space usage patterns among students with varying individual characteristics and to assess the interrelationships between students’ socio-demographic characteristics, perceived naturalness, patterns of use, and self-rated restoration and health using a structural equation model. The findings indicated that there were gender disparities in the presence of companions and frequency of use of campus green space, as well as discipline differences in companion presence. Additionally, gender, age, and discipline had distinct associations with perceived naturalness, patterns of use and self-rated restoration and health. Perceived naturalness positively contribute to patterns of use and self-rated restoration and health, while the frequency of use positively contributed to self-rated restoration and health. Moreover, students’ perceived health can be improved in part through the mediating effect of the self-rated restoration. The study findings demonstrated how campus green spaces benefit students’ health and provided valuable information for campus green space managers and designers. Therefore, we propose that presenting diverse natural elements, manipulating them in natural forms, providing feelings of wildness or friendliness, and eatablishing vast, high-quality, and diverse green spaces to promote students’ health.