Experience of urban parks: attributes that influence preferences and the relationship between personal and park characteristics, park use behaviour, and sense of place and well-being

Urban green areas, such as parks, are becoming increasingly important in densifying cities. Urban parks encourage physical and social activity, recreation and relaxation, and thus eventually promote people’s well-being. The aim of the current study is twofold, to examine which urban park attributes influence the preferences of park users and to gain more insight in the relationships between personal and park characteristics, park use behaviour, sense of place and long-term subjective well-being. For the first question, an online stated-choice experiment was developed. Seven park attributes (number and composition of trees; presence of benches, side paths, a playground, litter, and flowers) were manipulated in a virtual park. In an online stated-choice task, videos of these park alternatives were presented and the preferences were measured.<br>It is found that especially the number of trees and the presence of flowerbeds, particularly with a diversity of flowers, influenced participants’ preferences. The presence of many benches and a playground were valued as well, but to a lesser extent. The presence of litter was found to be less troublesome than expected. Alternatives with all trees placed in one cluster were disliked. Moreover, significant standard deviations were found for the presence of side paths, a playground, and the absence of litter, which indicates that preference heterogeneity for these attributes exist. In a latent class analysis, two groups were identified, namely a Nature-loving group, who mainly valued the trees and the flowers, and an Amenity-appreciating group, who valued almost all attributes. It can be concluded that natural elements and a variety of flower species are important in an urban park, while facilities are evaluated differently by different groups of people.<br>An online questionnaire was developed to collect data concerning personal characteristics, characteristics of parks that were visited and the way the park was used. Furthermore, questions were included to measure the sense of place and long term subjective well being. The questionnaire was distributed in two medium sized cities in the Netherlands, namely Eindhoven and ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Data was analysed using a path analysis. The results of this research show that appreciation of facilities, vegetation and the absence of disturbances influence the use and sense of place of a park. Furthermore, the results also show that personal characteristics influence the use of a park and the long-term subjective well-being.<br>These findings may support park designers and policymakers in decision-making. This information can be used to improve existing parks or design new parks that contribute to more positive experiences and improve thereby the subjective well-being of individuals. Moreover, the research illustrates the usefulness of creating a virtual park in environmental preference research. <br>

城市绿地（如城市公园）在城市高密度化进程中的重要性与日俱增。城市公园能够促进身体活动与社交互动、休闲放松，进而提升人们的福祉水平。本研究的核心目标分为两部分：一是探究哪些城市公园属性会影响公园使用者的偏好，二是深入解析个人特征与公园属性、公园使用行为、场所感知（sense of place）以及长期主观幸福感（subjective well-being）之间的关联。<br>针对第一个研究目标，本研究构建了线上陈述性选择实验（stated-choice experiment）。研究在虚拟公园中对7项公园属性进行变量操控，包括树木的数量与组成、座椅、步道、游乐场、垃圾状况以及花卉的存在情况。在在线陈述性选择任务中，研究向受试者展示了不同公园配置方案的视频，并对其偏好进行了测量。<br>研究结果显示，树木数量以及花境（尤其是花卉种类丰富的花境）的存在对受试者的偏好影响最为显著。大量座椅与游乐场的设置同样会得到受试者的认可，但影响程度相对较弱。垃圾的存在对受试者的负面影响低于预期。所有树木集中种植的公园方案则不受受试者喜爱。此外，研究发现步道、游乐场的存在以及无垃圾的公园属性存在显著的标准差，这表明受试者对这些属性的偏好存在异质性。通过潜类别分析（latent class analysis），本研究识别出两类人群：一类是热爱自然群体，主要关注树木与花卉属性；另一类是重视配套设施群体，对几乎所有公园属性都较为看重。由此可得出结论：自然元素与多样的花卉品种是城市公园的核心要素，而不同人群对公园配套设施的评价存在显著差异。<br>本研究还开发了在线问卷，用于收集受试者的个人特征、到访公园的属性以及公园使用方式相关数据。此外，问卷中纳入了用于测量场所感知与长期主观幸福感的题目。该问卷在荷兰两座中等城市——埃因霍温（Eindhoven）与斯海尔托亨博斯（’s-Hertogenbosch）——进行了发放。研究采用路径分析（path analysis）对数据进行了分析。本研究结果表明，对公园配套设施、植被以及无干扰环境的认可程度，会影响受试者对公园的使用意愿与场所感知。此外，研究结果还显示，个人特征会影响受试者的公园使用行为与长期主观幸福感。<br>本研究发现可为公园设计师与政策制定者的决策提供参考。相关研究结果可用于优化现有公园或设计全新公园，从而为使用者带来更优质的体验，进而提升个体的主观幸福感。此外，本研究也证实了在环境偏好研究中构建虚拟公园方案的有效性。