Uneven impacts of COVID-19 on residents' utilization of urban parks: A case study of Guangzhou, China

As COVID-19 increased people's dependency on urban parks for physical and psychological well-being, it also has uncertain impacts on park utilization. Understanding these impacts and how the pandemic has contributed to them is an issue that warrants urgent attention. The authors used multi-source spatio-temporal data to examine urban park use before and during COVID-19 in Guangzhou, China, and constructed a set of regression models to evaluate the associated factors. They found that COVID-19 has significantly reduced the overall utilization of urban parks while also exacerbating spatial unevenness. This was due to residents' limited movement distance, and the diminished role of urban transportation affecting the efficient citywide use of parks. Meanwhile, residents' increased demand for nearby parks amplified the importance of community parks, which exacerbated the consequences caused by the uneven distribution of park resources. The authors propose that city administrators improve the efficiency of existing parks and prioritize the adequate placement of community parks at urban fringes to improve access. Furthermore, cities with similar layouts as Guangzhou should plan for urban parks from a multi-perspective and consider the sub-city level differences to address unevenness during the current pandemic and in the future.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2023.102905
• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014362282300036X
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/01436228
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Li, Li
  • 0000-0001-6432-3149
  • Li, Xiaojian
  • Niu, Ning
  • 0000-0002-8825-8799
  • He, Jialin
  • 0000-0001-7509-7829
• Publication Date: 2023-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 102905
• Serial:
  • Applied Geography
  • Volume: 153
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0143-6228
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01436228

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accessibility; COVID-19; Equity; Parks; Spatial analysis; Urban areas
• Geographic Terms: Guangzhou (China)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01885707
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 22 2023 9:49AM