Deciphering the effect of user-generated content on park visitation : A comparative study of nine Chinese cities in the Pearl River Delta

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

View graph of relations

Author(s)

Detail(s)

Original languageEnglish
Article number107259
Journal / PublicationLand Use Policy
Volume144
Online published3 Jul 2024
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2024

Abstract

Identifying key factors affecting park visitation is critical for promoting park visitation and maximizing parks’ health and social benefits. Little research has comprehensively revealed the effects of UGC on park visitation within a large regional context, despite its pervasive influence in modern society. Furthermore, although existing research indicated that factors influencing park visitation may vary across different cities, few studies have linked such heterogeneity to different city levels, i.e., cities with different economic status, population size and urbanization level. In this study, we performed comparative research to reveal the effect of UGC on park visitation in nine cities with different urban contexts and economic levels within the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China based on 1,771,093 UGC and mobility data of sample parks. Our results demonstrated that UGC exposure, sentiment, and rating had significant effects on park visitation across all PRD cities; the effect of UGC rating was higher than that of most other variables. Furthermore, most high-value clusters of UGC were concentrated in first-tier cities, while low-value clusters were in non-first-tier cities. Moreover, the effects of UGC variables showed a decreasing trend with lower city levels, while the effect of certain built environment variables exhibited an increasing trend with lower city levels. Our study sheds light on the key factors in park usage, providing effective pathways for policymakers and urban designers to maximize the utilization of urban parks across various city types in modern society. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd.

Research Area(s)

  • Comparative study, Park visitation, Social media, Urban greenspace, Urban park, User-generated content (UGC)