Redesigning urban parks for active living in dense urban areas: a remote audit approach

The widespread use of virtual audits has transformed the assessment of urban design attributes by eliminating the necessity for on-site visits. However, there remains a lack of virtual audit tools specifically designed for evaluating urban parks in dense urban environments. This study aims to (1) adapt the Audit Tool for Activity-friendly Parks in Dense Urban Areas (TAPS) into a remote audit tool (R-TAPS), and (2) evaluate its reliability and validity. Trained auditors used R-TAPS to conduct remote audits of urban parks (<i>n</i> = 53) in Tokyo, with on-site audits for a subset (<i>n</i> = 25). Kappa statistics and percent agreement assessed inter-rater reliability, and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) verified convergent validity. R-TAPS showed moderate to almost perfect agreement in 89% of the items. Remote and on-site audits exhibited a high positive correlation (ICC = 0.73). R-TAPS offers a reliable tool for virtually evaluating urban parks to promote physical activity in dense urban settings.

虚拟审核的广泛应用，通过省去实地踏勘环节，重塑了城市设计属性的评估范式。然而，当前仍缺乏专门针对高密度城市环境下城市公园评估的虚拟审核工具。本研究旨在达成两项目标：一是将针对高密度城区活动友好型公园的审核工具（Audit Tool for Activity-friendly Parks in Dense Urban Areas，TAPS）改造为远程审核工具（R-TAPS）；二是对该工具的信度与效度进行评估。经过培训的审核人员使用R-TAPS对东京的53座城市公园开展远程审核，并对其中25座公园同步开展实地审核。研究采用Kappa统计量与一致性百分比评估审核者间信度，通过组内相关系数（intra-class correlation coefficient，ICC）验证聚合效度。R-TAPS在89%的评估条目上展现出中等至近乎完美的一致性水平。远程审核与实地审核间呈现高度正相关（ICC=0.73）。R-TAPS可为高密度城市环境下推动身体活动的城市公园虚拟评估提供可靠工具。