A Decision-Support Framework for Equitable Urban Green Space Planning: Cooling-Weighted Park Accessibility for Older Adults

As urban heat stress intensifies under rapid urbanization and climate change, urban parks are increasingly recognized as critical cooling infrastructure. However, conventional urban park planning has often emphasized the quantitative provision or spatially balanced distribution of parks, with limited attention to whether vulnerable populations can access parks with stronger cooling performance under spatial and mobility constraints. This issue is particularly important in aging societies, where older adults face greater heat vulnerability and more restricted walking mobility. This study proposes a decision-support framework that integrates park cooling performance, accessibility, and spatial equity assessment for age-sensitive urban green space planning. Using Seongnam City, South Korea, as a case study, park-level cooling performance was estimated using the InVEST Urban Cooling Model and incorporated into a Gaussian Two-Step Floating Catchment Area model. Focusing on older adults, with the working-age population as a comparative reference, the study assessed cooling-weighted park accessibility across multiple spatial scales. The results show that older adults experience lower and more unequal accessibility than the working-age population. In the Northern Living Zone, older-adult accessibility was only 35.2% of the Central Living Zone value, and 59.5% of older adults were exposed to low-accessibility hotspots. The framework provides practical evidence for prioritizing park provision, cooling-function enhancement, and heat-resilient pedestrian improvements.