Recreational Behavior and Spatial Characteristics of Urban Parks Based on Multi-Source Information: A Case Study of Xiaohong Stone Carving Park in Nanjing

Urban parks are an important part of urban recreational spaces,and the development of analysis framework of recreational behavior and space is helpful for the design of urban parks to better meet the activity and usage requirements of visitors.In this paper,Xiaohong Stone Carving Park in Nanjing was taken as the research object to explore the relationship between landscape space and user behavior for design feedback.The orthographic image technology of unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)and machine deep learning were used to analyze users behavior activities in the park,and the spatial characteristics of each node in the park were evaluated by semantic differential scale to explore the potential causes of behavior activities.The results showed that①there were significant differences in the number of visitors on holidays and working days,and young people and children were the main users.②The users activity of the park differed greatly on the inner and outer tour roads,and the users showed stronger willingness to stay on the inner tour roads.Recreational activities received more attention than cultural ones.③The overall distribution of users was significantly affected by hydrophilicity,and the recreational behavior and activity type were affected by multiple factors which include the hydrophilicity,safety,accessibility of cultural relics and the amount of recreational facilities.Finally,the enhanced strategies such as improving the cultural tour system,establishing hydrophilic safety belts and optimizing recreational facilities were put forward.

Practical Experience of Management of Urban Parks at Home and Abroad

By systematically reviewing the practical experience of management of urban parks at home and abroad,the advanced experience in organization,management system,operation mechanism and social participation were summarized,and the optimization and improvement measures for the construction and management of urban parks in Chengdu were proposed to provide reference for the high-level construction,high-quality experience and efficient management of urban parks in the construction of park city demonstration zone in Chengdu.

Understanding the drivers of woody plant diversity in urban parks in a snow climate city of China

Urban parks are an important part of urban ecosystems and play an important role in biodiversity conservation.However,it is still unclear how park characteristics aff ect plant diversity which could hinder the conservation of urban biodiversity due to the ineff ective design of urban parks.The diversity of woody plants in 33 parks of Changchun,China,was measured with plot measurements and linked with urban park characteristics(e.g.,size and age of the park)to uncover the relationship between them.The results show that urban woody plant species were abundant,with 98 species belonging to 51 genera and 26 families in the snow climate city of Changchun.The variation in woody plant diversity was largely explained by internal patch characteristics(e.g.,size,age,shape),and external factors surrounding the park(e.g.,land use type and socioeconomic level)accounted for only 16.0%in our study.For internal patch characteristics,older urban parks with larger areas demonstrated a richer level of plant diversity and increased nonlinearly with increasing park area.The threshold size signifi cantly aff ecting plant diversity variation was approximately 30 ha.Plant diversity had positive linear relationships with the ages of urban parks,supporting the legacy eff ect.In addition,woody plant diversity nonlinearly decreased with increasing park shape index,which suggested that the plant diversity could also be increased by optimizing the park shape.Regarding the external factors surrounding parks,the spatial distribution of woody plant diversity varied greatly from the urban center to the suburbs.House prices around the park had positive linear relationships with woody plant diversity in parks,supporting the luxury eff ect.However,building and road proportions,and green space proportion had no relationship with plant diversity in parks.This study can provide a robust reference for enriching plant diversity in urban parks,thus improving the development of urban sustainable cities.

Pest and disease incidence of coniferous species in Taman Saujana Hijau,Putrajaya urban park,Malaysia

Taman Saujana Hijau(TSH),Putrajaya is a 41-ha urban park planted with various coniferous species from around the world.Insect pests and disease incidences of this park are unknown and there is a need for an evaluation of the health status of this urban park.This study assessed the level of pest and disease incidents of coniferous species in 12 plots of 7 species(Araucaria bidwilii,Araucaria haterophylla,Araucaria cunninghamii,Pinus caribaea,Pinus merkusii,Podocarpus polystachyus,and Podocarpus costalis).Termites,canker disease,and foliar disease are three major problems.The highest pest and disease incidence(PnDI)was foliar disease with a 0.49 coefficient correlation between the total number of trees and the PnDI,followed by canker disease with 0.40,and termites with 0.36.Of the seven conifers,A.haterophylla was the most infected followed by A.bidwilii and A.cunninghamii.It was concluded that the incidence of pests and diseases in TSH was moderate.To our knowledge,this may be the first baseline inventory of pests and diseases of coniferous species in Malaysia.

Evaluation of Recreation Service Quality of Slow Traffic Space in Urban Parks Based on IPA-Space Syntax Model

To build an“ecological and livable city”,it is important to figure out the relationship between human activity and urban park space and create a high-quality urban park through the integration of“people”and“park”.Taking Longhu Park in Huainan Province as an example,the study quantitatively analyzed and evaluated the characteristics and service quality of slow traffic space using importance-performance analysis(IPA)and space syntax,clarified the key indexes and areas to be optimized,and put forward corresponding design countermeasures and suggestions in combination with human activity demand.The results suggest that:①The mean performance of park recreation service quality is 3.63,less than the mean importance(3.95).Tourists pay special attention to the safety and convenience of slow traffic space,and the diversity and identiability of site functions is the focus“to be improved”.②The accessibility of Longhu Park shows a strong irregular shape in the southwest.The dead-end roads in the far lake area and the flora and fauna area on the northwest side have weak spatial perception,and the composite function carrying potential of slow traffic space is better reflected in a small range.Therefore,an optimization strategy for slow traffic space is proposed to enhance the continuity of road network,site identifiability,and functional diversification.The results will provide new thoughts of governance based on spatial humanism for the high-quality renewal of urban parks in the new era.

Landscape Upgrading and Transformation of Old Urban Parks from the Perspective of Place Attachment:A Case Study of Nanchang Bayi Park

On the basis of combing the relevant theories of place attachment, the planning framework of upgrading and reconstruction of old parks based on place attachment was put forward. Taking Nanchang Bayi Park as an example, the methods and key points of landscape improvement and transformation of old urban parks based on place attachment were explained to provide new ways and references for the renewal of old urban parks.

Balanced Consideration of Urban Park Green Space to Provide Services and Disservices

Ecosystem services(ES),the benefits of ecosystem function and structure to human well⁃being,have been receiving continued attention from international community since the publication of the millennium ecosystem assessment(MA).While humans enjoy all kinds of services provided by the ecosystem,they are also adversely affected by the services provided by the ecosystem,which are called ecosystem disservices(EDS).Based on EDS related research,this paper expounds the EDS concept and connotation to urban park green space as the research object,defines the concept and classification of urban park green space ecosystem disservices(PEDS),and introduces the influencing factors of the listed examples of urban PEDSs.It also discusses equilibrium relationship of the urban park green space service and disservice,and summarizes the research on urban PEDS to improve the meaning of human well⁃being.Finally,it points out the factors that should be considered in the planning,design,management,and maintenance of future urban park green space.

The influence of urban park characteristics on bird diversity in Nanjing, China

Background:Habitat loss,fragmentation and decrease of habitat quality caused by urbanization have led to a dramatic decline in biodiversity worldwide.For highly urbanized areas,parks have become“islands”or habitat fragments for wildlife.As an important indicator group of urban ecosystem health,the response of birds to urbanization has attracted the global attention of ecologists.Understanding the key factors affecting bird diversity in urbanized environment is crucial to the protection of biodiversity in urban ecosystems.Methods:We used the line-transect method to survey birds in 37 urban parks in Nanjing,China.We also measured a number of park characteristics(area,isolation,shape index,environmental noise,distance to city center,and habitat diversity)that are commonly assumed to influence bird diversity.We then used the information-theoretic multi-model inference approach to determine which park characteristics had significant impacts on bird species richness.Results:We found that park area,habitat diversity and the distance to city center were the best positive predictors of bird species richness in Nanjing urban parks.By contrast,park isolation,park shape and environmental noise had little or no influence on bird diversity.Conclusions:Our study highlights the importance of park area,habitat diversity and the distance to city center in determining bird diversity in Nanjing city parks.Therefore,from a conservation viewpoint,we recommend that large parks with complex and diverse habitats far away from the city center should be retained or constructed to increase bird diversity in urban design and planning.

Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on urban park visitation:a global analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in over 33 million confirmed cases and over 1 million deaths globally,as of 1 October 2020.During the lockdown and restrictions placed on public activities and gatherings,green spaces have become one of the only sources of resilience amidst the coronavirus pandemic,in part because of their positive effects on psychological,physical and social cohesion and spiritual wellness.This study analyzes the impacts of COVID-19 and government response policies to the pandemic on park visitation at global,regional and national levels and assesses the importance of parks during this global pandemic.The data we collected primarily from Google’s Community Mobility Reports and the Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker.The results for most countries included in the analysis show that park visitation has increased since February 16th,2020 compared to visitor numbers prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.Restrictions on social gathering,movement,and the closure of workplace and indoor recreational places,are correlated with more visits to parks.Stay-at-home restrictions and government stringency index are negatively associated with park visits at a global scale.Demand from residents for parks and outdoor green spaces has increased since the outbreak began,and highlights the important role and benefits provided by parks,especially urban and community parks,under the COVID-19 pandemic.We provide recommendations for park managers and other decision-makers in terms of park management and planning during health crises,as well as for park design and development.In particular,parks could be utilized during pandemics to increase the physical and mental health and social well-being of individuals.

Evaluation of Urban Park Landscape in Ma’anshan Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP)

In order to further develop the urban park landscape,the representative urban park landscape in Ma’anshan City is first evaluated and analyzed from the aspects of humanistic artistic value,social historical value and user experience value.Afterwards,the weight of each park landscape is judged by analytic hierarchy process(AHP),and it is found that the indexes in the criterion layer successively are user experience value>humanistic artistic value>social historical value;in the factor layer,excellent user experience,universal design,reasonable and perfect public services and layout suitable for urban planning are more important factors,while artistic conception creation has the lowest weight.Finally,based on the results obtained by AHP,the improvement and optimization strategy for urban park landscape in Ma’anshan City is proposed to further strengthen the development of urban parks in Ma’anshan City.

Study on Ecological Development of Urban Parks

Research background,significance,characteristics and planning methods of the ecological development of urban parks were elaborated.This paper took green space planning of Xishan Park in Qianxi City for example,explored the application of ecological development theories in green space planning of urban park.

Accessibility Evaluation and Layout Optimization of Urban Parks in Xihu District, Nanchang City Based on Walking of the Elderly People

Urban park is one of the few green spaces that retain natural traces and are easy for the elderly to reach,and it has become the main place for the elderly to carry out leisure,entertainment,physical fi tness and interpersonal activities.The reasonable layout of urban parks is of great signifi cance to improve the quality of life of the elderly in old age.In this article,using the network analysis method in ArcGIS software,the accessibility of urban parks in Xihu District of Nanchang City based on elderly walking was evaluated and analyzed,and three strategies for optimizing the layout of the urban parks were proposed,including increasing the number of urban parks,improving the urban traffic network,and strengthening urban greenway planning and construction.The research results can provide reference for the optimal layout of urban parks in Xihu District,Nanchang City,so that the urban parks can better meet the outdoor leisure needs of the elderly,and the elderly’s sense of well-being and gain is enhanced.

Recreational Attractiveness of Urban Parks and Implications for Their Management:A Case Study in Changchun,China

Urban parks are an important part of urban ecosystems and also provide recreational services for urban residents.However,it is still unclear how the recreational attractiveness of urban parks can be evaluated.In this study,12 typical parks in Changchun,China were selected for evaluation of their recreational attractiveness.We built a recreational attractiveness evaluation system based on the analytical hierarchy process(AHP)to produce a composite evaluation index.This method included:1)the landscape quality of the parks;2)the recreational facilities;3)the conditions of the area;and 4)the accessibility of the parks.Our results showed that Nanhu Park,Children’s Park,Shengli Park,and Jingyuetan Forest Park had high recreational attractiveness,whereas Linyuan Park had the lowest attractiveness among the 12 parks.These results agreed with the information obtained from a field survey of the actual recreational and revisit rates,which showed that the evaluation index is reliable.Correlation analysis showed that the landscape quality and recreational facilities of parks had a direct effect on their recreational attractiveness.A negative correlation was found between the accessibility of a park and its recreational attractiveness.We conclude that if the scenery and facilities are not as good as a visitor expects,then they may choose to visit a different park,even if it takes a longer time to reach.

Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) Using Space Syntax: A Case Study of Urban Parks in the South of Brazil

This study is based on strategies for reading and representing the environment,associated with the theory of social logic of space(space syntax).The general objective of this study is to understand and compare the use of space syntax in relation to connectivity,integration and choice of axial routes of the urban parks of Porto Alegre,in the state of Rio Grande do Sul,south of Brazil.The method applied was the capture of georeferenced images for data analysis by using the Theory of Space Syntax(TSE).Thus,three variables were considered for interpretation:choice,connectivity and integration,and they were correlated to statistical data on urban morphology.The results demonstrated the possibility of obtaining significant improvements in the studied urban parks due to the need to create guidelines related to connection and integration that directly impact users'choice strategies when they move around the city.

Suitability Evaluation of Physical Activity Places in Urban Parks for Children's Play Activities:A Case Study of Four Urban Parks in Handan

Taking 4 urban parks in Handan City as the research objects, 41 suitability evaluation indicators are selected according to the relevant literature reading. The common factors are extracted through factor analysis and the importance questionnaire and summarized into 6 dimensions, namely children's play facilities and auxiliary facility quality factor, natural environment participation factor, children's play space convenience factor, artificial environment participation factor, space environment quality and safety factor, children's game activity facility perfection factor, and the weights of public factors and indicators are calculated. Then the index score is calculated through field measurement and satisfaction survey, and the IPA analysis method is used to draw the coordinate map of key optimization indicators for 4 parks. Finally, corresponding optimization suggestions are put forward for Handan urban parks according to the analysis and evaluation results.

Urban Park Landscape Design from the Perspective of Public Health

In face of the huge impact of COVID-19 on the society,the rising concerns on public health have brought the unprecedented opportunities to the upgrading of urban landscapes.The public concerns on health issues have shifted from the physical and mental health to the macro aspect of social health.To satisfy urban residents’ needs on healthy life is the top priority in urban public landscape designs,and also a necessary requirement of future landscape designs.Urban park is an important public activity space,and the urgent task is to explore how to build a healthy urban park and promote public health with urban parks.

Study on Effect of A Restaurant in An Urban Park:A Case Study of Senri-Minami Park in Suita City of Japan

The Urban Park Act was revised in 2017,in which a new Park-PFI system to select private companies through public offering was introduced.The system is a new park maintenance and management method to improve the quality of urban parks and the convenience of park users while encouraging good investment by the private sector in urban parks and reducing the financial burden on park managers.In this study,we analyzed the case of introducing the private sector’s expertise into urban park maintenance projects,clarified the background and contents of the projects,and compared the system with the conventional method of public-private partnership projects for urban parks.Furthermore,we implemented a survey on the actual situation of Senri-Minami Park in Suita City.Based on the survey results,we evaluated and analyzed the direct benefits obtained from using the Travel Cost Method.Based on the above,this study examined the feasibility and the requirements of establishing public-private collaboration projects in urban parks through literature review,fact-finding survey,and benefit analysis.

Evaluation of Urban Park Design Criterias in the Case of Taraqi Park,Herat,Afghanistan

The objective of this study is to define park design standards,determine the user expectations of the parks and evaluate the defined standards in the case of Taraqi Park in Herat city.On-site detection,observation and questionnaire survey methods were utilized in the study.The conformity of the park area with international standards were evaluated while general satisfaction towards the park was tried to be determined by virtue of surveys made with the users of the park.The results revealed that the current status of the park was poor,design and management of the park needs urgent improvements.Taraqi Park is the most visited park of the city in which the overall design of the park,facilities,management and maintenance systems are observed inadequate according to standards,rules and regulations of urban parks.

Seasonal Influence in Traffic-Related Air Pollutants Concentrations in Urban Parks from Porto Alegre,Brazil

Traffic-related air pollution is an alarming source of pollutants exposure and consequently to the development of several adverse health effects. Otherwise, green spaces are reported to improve health status. Although, in an urban scenario most of these areas are located near air pollutants sources, as vehicle fleet. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine, during one year, the levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) in the main parks from Porto Alegre—Brazil. This study focused on three urban parks: Germania, Moinhos de Vento and Marinha do Brasil Park. Nitrogen dioxide and ozone measurements were accessed by passive monitoring in four campaigns including all seasons and performed at distances of 0 m, 15 m, 30 m, 45 m, 60 m and 75 m from the main road at each park. NO2 and O3 concentration among the parks was not different (p > 0.05), as well as the mean concentration of NO2 and O3 of all parks in the six sites did not differ (p > 0.05). However, season 1 and 3 showed increased NO2 and O3 concentration. Temperature were decreased in season 1 and 3 (p p > 0.05). Traffic flow was higher in Moinhos de Vento Park and Marinha do Brasil Park compared to Germania Park (p 2 and O3 concentration in urban parks from Porto Alegre.

Design Methods of Ecological Urban Park

On the basis of summarizing design methods of ecological urban park,it was proposed that preparatory control work should be enhanced,reasonable zoning of use functions and spatial structures established,overall consideration given to traffi c system and vertical design,and landscaping system created based on ecological view. In addition,it was also signifi cant for designers and management departments taking proper planning and designs to create new urban open spaces,improve supporting facilities,enhance public participation mechanism,and keep pace with the sustainable development of the city.