Temporal and spatial differences in human activities performed in Urban Green Spaces of Vilnius(Lithuania)

Urban green spaces(UGS)are relevant to city well-being,as recognized by the United Nations’Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).However,few studies have studied the temporal use of UGS.This work assessed the seasonal,weekly,and daily use of three urban green spaces(Vingis Park,Bernardino Garden,and Jomantas Park)in Vilnius(Lithuania).The study is based on an on-site observation-based survey,which recorded users’characteristics,activities,and weather conditions during summer and winter.The results showed that UGS’s seasonal,weekly,and daily use differed according to park and users’characteristics.Parks with a higher diversity of facilities had a high seasonal difference in the number of observed activities.User numbers were higher in the summer for activities with children,social activities,sports,and water activities than in the winter.Jomantas Park had the lowest variability in user characteristics.Weather variables were linked to changes in users’activities.Higher precipitation and lower temperature were associated with reducing the number of users and the diversity of registered activities.Most of the stationary activities were observed during summer.The diversity of the observed activities was associated with the available facilities rather than the park size.The distribution of stationary activities was spatially correlated with facility/equipment(benches,playgrounds,sports,and fitness equipment)and proximity to water features.The results of this study are relevant for UGS design,planning,and management.

Spatial-temporal Patterns of Urban Parks’Effects on the Sentiments and Their Associated Factors Based on Social Media Data——a Case Study in Beijing

As the pivotal green space,urban parks play an important role in urban residents’daily activities.Thy can not only bring people physical health,but also can be more likely to elicit positive sentiment to those who visit them.Recently,social media big data has provided new data sources for sentiment analysis.However,there was limited researches that explored the connection between urban parks and individual’s sentiments.Therefore,this study firstly employed a pre-trained language model(BERT,Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers)to calculate sentiment scores based on social media data.Secondly,this study analysed the relationship between urban parks and individual’s sentiment from both spatial and temporal perspectives.Finally,by utilizing structural equation model(SEM),we identified 13 factors and analyzed its degree of the influence.The research findings are listed as below:①It confirmed that individuals generally experienced positive sentiment with high sentiment scores in the majority of urban parks;②The urban park type showed an influence on sentiment scores.In this study,higher sentiment scores observed in Eco-parks,comprehensive parks,and historical parks;③The urban parks level showed low impact on sentiment scores.With distinctions observed mainly at level-3 and level-4;④Compared to internal factors in parks,the external infrastructure surround them exerted more significant impact on sentiment scores.For instance,number of bus and subway stations around urban parks led to higher sentiment scores,while scenic spots and restaurants had inverse result.This study provided a novel method to quantify the services of various urban parks,which can be served as inspiration for similar studies in other cities and countries,enhancing their park planning and management strategies.

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.

Visual Quality Analysis of Urban Park Landscapes Based on Eye Tracking: A Case Study of Nanjing Xiaohong Stone Carving Park

The landscape quality of urban parks is an important aspect of tourists'landscape experience.A full understanding of their relationship is beneficial to the park design,construction and management.In this paper,Xiaohong Stone Carving Park in Nanjing was selected as a case study.Firstly,the subjective landscape visual quality evaluation of tourists was obtained through the scenic beauty evaluation,and the objective landscape visual preference of users was obtained through eye movement experiment and analysis.Secondly,the values of various park landscape elements were measured respectively.And then the correlation between the subjective and objective evaluation and the values of park landscape elements was analyzed.The results showed that:(1)The visual preference of plant cluster landscape with beautiful shape,distinct layers and significant color contrast is high;(2)The preference for waterfront scenes with significant terrain differences,rich background vegetation levels,and clear and vivid water side reflections is high;(3)The designed artificial structures often become the focus of attention in the whole scene,which can improve the beauty of the scene;(4)The overall landscape composition is very important for the beauty of the scene.Finally,through the comprehensive analysis with the design expectation,the optimization strategy was proposed.

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.

Evaluation of Thermal Comfort in Urban Parks in Guangzhou City

Thermal comfort evaluations for Yuexiu Park,Lushan Park,and Baiyun Lake Park in Guangzhou were conducted using field meteorological data collection,visitor questionnaires,and literature reviews.It analyzed the impact of green coverage,water body layout,and facility configuration on thermal comfort.The results showed that good green and water body design effectively lowered the temperature in the park and improved the thermal comfort of visitors,but the insufficient facility configuration in some open areas affected the experience.The visitor’s experience is closely related to the natural environment and facility layout of the park.Therefore,in the future,park design should pay more attention to the rational configuration of shading,ventilation,and cooling facilities to improve thermal comfort,and encourage citizens to participate in the construction and management of parks to improve ecological quality and user experience.This study provides a reference for the improvement of thermal comfort in urban parks in Guangzhou and aims to promote the sustainable and human-oriented development of urban park design.

Development Strategies for Urban Parks in Chongqing’s Main District:A New Paradigm for Urban Green Spaces

With the advent of the new concept of an“urban park”and the new paradigm of urban development,Chongqing Municipality has actively embraced this vision,integrating it with the city’s unique geographical and demographic conditions.The city has prioritized urban park construction as a key project for public welfare,aiming to address issues such as uneven geographical distribution,limited functionality,and mismatched supply and demand.This initiative seeks to optimize urban parks as vital public resources while protecting the ecological environment.Adhering to principles of functional priority,safety and comfort,shared development,and distinctive features,Chongqing has incorporated parks and other green open spaces into its basic urban planning.This approach aims to create beautiful,comfortable and age-friendly shared urban spaces.This study,grounded in the urban park development concept and the characteristics of a mountainous,multi-center city,constructs a model to measure urban park satisfaction in Chongqing’s main urban area.The model considers supply-demand matching and resident satisfaction.It aims to systematically review relevant policies,plans,and cutting-edge theories,analyze the urban park development in Chongqing,understand residents’needs,and address issues related to supply-demand matching,multifunctionality,and quality construction.The findings provide insights into the development and conservation of urban parks in Chongqing and beyond,aiming to continually meet the public’s growing desire for a better quality of life and support high-quality development.

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.

Experiencing urban forests for mitigation of negative emotions of people exposed to seasonal PM_(2.5)in Northeast China

Experiencing urban green and blue spaces(GBSs)can be a nature-based solution to improve mental well-being and cope with negative moods for people exposed to PM2.5 pollution.In this study,a total of 1257 photos were collected to recognize their posted emotions of Sina Weibo users from 38 parks in 22 cities in Northeast China in 2021,when atmospheric PM_(2.5)and landscape metrics were evaluated for GBSs of each park.Autumn and winter had heavy atmospheric PM_(2.5)pollutions in resource-dependent cities of Liaoning.Net positive emotions(happy minus sad scores)decreased in larger green spaces.The perception of blue space countered the presentation of sadness only for a limited period over four seasons.High elevation decreased the level of happiness presented in winter.Overall,this study confirms that visiting large urban green spaces at low elevations can benefit the perception of positive sentiments for people exposed to PM_(2.5)in autumn.For planning urban forests in Northeast China,more green spaces should be constructed in cities in southern Jilin province to alleviate air PM_(2.5)pollution and gain better well-being of local people.

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.

Importance of Urban Wetland Parks under the Development of Green Healthy Cities:A Case Study of Nanjing City

Wetlands are widely distributed all over the world,and have many wildlife resources,which are the main pieces of the puzzle for natural resource conservation and sustainable development on earth and have important irreplaceability.In this paper,through questionnaire survey,field research,literature review,etc.,importance weight analysis was conducted by using principal component analysis,and field survey and questionnaire were carried out to collect data on ecological environment function,environmental protection function,landscape beautification function,disaster prevention and mitigation function of urban wetlands.The problems in wetland parks of Nanjing were discussed,such as lack of awareness of landscape planning,deficient late management of wetland parks,weak ability of sustainable development,and unreasonable landscape layout and function.Finally,corresponding solutions were proposed,such as adhering to the planning and design of urban wetland parks with green as the base and health as the basis,persisting in the construction of a wetland system with high biodiversity and near-natural characteristics,adhering to the principle of sustainable development,adopting the construction idea of symbiosis and circulation of urban wetland parks,strengthening education and publicity work,and paying attention to the organic combination of system protection and coordinated construction.The research can build a new development direction for the model of urban wetland parks and green healthy cities,and provide theoretical support for urban sustainable construction.

Residential Parking Service Model Based on Resource Sharing

Aiming at solving pressing parking issues in the urban environment, a residential parking spaces sharing model was proposed in this study. In this model, firstly, the residential community pattern, the status of idle parking spaces, and the temporal and spatial characteristics of sharing parking had been analyzed. Next,in the convenience of modeling,medical institutions that have the most prominent parking problems were selected as the subject of study. Based on the K-S statistical analysis results and the actual parking sharing situation,it was observed that the residential parking sharing time satisfied the shifted negative exponential distribution( SNED). Finally,a probability model of shared service capacity based on the SNED and critical time condition was established. By applying the statistical analysis method,the time of vehicles passing in and out of parking spaces, the idle time of parking spaces, the shifted distribution parameters, and other important model parameters had been calibrated,which was leading to the algorithm of model. In addition,considering the feasibility of model without sufficient data,the vehicle travel probability,the stagnation rate of parking space,and the status of parking spaces were defined and the reference data were also provided. The results of case studies indicate that it is very promising to solve urban parking issues if the residential community shares its rich parking resources with adjacent commercial buildings.

Analysis of metropolis parking problems and solutions based on GIS

The rapid development of the social economy strongly promotes the urbanization and motorization.Meanwhile,parking problems become serious due to the long-term imbalance between parking demands and facility constructions.Thus there is an increasing urgency in finding solutions for parking problems.Based on the methodology framework of geographic information system（GIS）,the metropolis parking problems are discussed in this paper.The characteristics of parking demand and the reasons for parking problems are investigated in detail.Then,the basic parking principle and strategies for solving parking problems are suggested with the example of Beijing.The results are hoped to improve the parking environment in metropolis.

Low-Density Microplastics in Recreational Parks of Al Ain, United Arab Emirates: Abundance, Composition, and Potential Effects on Soil Health

Microplastics (MPs) have been an emerging concern due to their harmful effects on the ecosystem and are ubiquitous in various habitats, from marine to terrestrial environments. However, studies on the presence of MPs in recreational areas are limited. One of the previous works has reported that urban recreational parks are considered “sinks” for plastic debris, including MPs. In this study, low-density MPs (LD-MPs) in soil samples collected from recreational parks of Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE) were isolated by density flotation method. Results showed that these parks have varying levels of LD-MPs caused by various anthropogenic activities, such as sludge use and application of reclaimed water from wastewater treatment facilities in those areas. These plastic particles were isolated in 87% of the soil samples, with an average concentration of 1550 ± 340 MPs/kg. Predominantly, these comprised large LD-MPs (300 - 5000 μm), with red and blue being the most common colors. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy identified possible synthetic polymers, including polyethylene and polypropylene. Additionally, a negative correlation was observed between LD-MP concentration and soil pH and moisture content, indicating potential adverse effects on soil health. These findings highlight the need for monitoring and managing microplastic pollution in urban recreational areas to mitigate its ecological impacts.

Discussion on Planning of Overall Urban Agriculture Park

The urban agriculture park plan involves urban plan, agricultural plan, eco- logical plan, tourism plan and land plan, which can be further divided into strategic plan, general plan and detail plan to explore related issues. With social develop- ment, urban agricultural park is playing an increasingly important role in promoting agricultural and rural development, protecting nearby area farmlands and maintaining sustainable development, as well as an important part of government research. Based on status quo of urban agricultural park in China, basic characters were summarized and frameworks of urban agricultural park with Chinese characteristics were proposed, including early-stage research, prospect exploration, spatial planning, industry planning and guarantees, of which spatial planning and industry planning are highlights.

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.

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.

Landscape ecological characteristics in temporal changes of riverside open space in urbanized area

The aim of this paper is to clarify the pattern and process of changes of landscape in riverside open spaces in urbanized area.The area between the old banks of the Furukawa River in Hiroshima City was examined in this research.The land use maps of the study area were drawn at seven different times were analyzed,and the number,sizes and perimeters of all patches of all land use types were measured.In these areas,temporal patterns of land use change over the past 30 years were divided to three stages:19661976,19761988 and 19881997.As a result of human disturbance,the riparian forest patches in urbanized areas have decreased in average size and have also become longer and narrower.