The correlation between spatial characteristics and utilization of city parks: A focus on neighborhood parks in Seoul, Korea

Abstract

In a contemporary city, the importance of urban green space is consistently increasing, and there are growing demands to evaluate the present condition of urban parks and prepare a suitable provision policy for a green environment based on several standards. A number of researchers have measured the amenity properties of urban parks and identified several relationships between urban park user satisfaction and internal facilities. However, most existing studies have considered only the spatial properties or internal facility status as measurement standards to calculate the quantitative adequacy or satisfaction of park use but have not considered a number of diverse criteria. Therefore, in this study, the authors determine the main factors affecting the usage of urban parks by considering more diverse variables through statistical analysis. The multiple regression analyses show that some factors have significant effects on the number of annual visitors. This implies that well-constructed park facilities with decent quality, high accessibility and precision of spatial recognition affect the degree of use in addition to the quantitative elements and the surrounding environment, although social factors and environmental factors rarely affect the usage of regional parks.