IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i6p3579-d774159.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Park Characteristics and Changes in Park Visitation before, during, and after COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place Order

Author

Listed:
  • Yizhen Ding

    (Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA)

  • Dongying Li

    (Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA)

  • Huiyan Sang

    (Department of Statistics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has limited people’s visitation to public places because of social distancing and shelter-in-place orders. According to Google’s community mobility reports, some countries showed a decrease in park visitation during the pandemic, while others showed an increase. Although government responses played a significant role in this variation, little is known about park visitation changes and the park attributes that are associated with these changes. Therefore, we aimed to examine the associations between park characteristics and percent changes in park visitation in Harris County, TX, for three time periods: before, during, and after the shelter-in-place order of Harris County. We utilized SafeGraph’s point-of-interest data to extract weekly park visitation counts for the Harris County area. This dataset included the size of each park and its weekly number of visits from 2 March to 31 May 2020. In addition, we measured park characteristics, including greenness density, using the normalized difference vegetation index; park type (mini, neighborhood, community, regional/metropolitan); presence of sidewalks and bikeways; sidewalk and bikeway quantity; and bikeway quality. Results showed that park visitation decreased after issuing the shelter-in-place order and increased after this order was lifted. Results from linear regression models indicated that the higher the greenness density of the park, the smaller the decrease in park visitation during the shelter-in-place period compared to before the shelter-in-place order. This relationship also appeared after the shelter-in-place order. The presence of more sidewalks was related to less visitation increase after the shelter-in-place order. These findings can guide planners and designers to implement parks that promote public visitation during pandemics and potentially benefit people’s physical and mental health.

Suggested Citation

  • Yizhen Ding & Dongying Li & Huiyan Sang, 2022. "Park Characteristics and Changes in Park Visitation before, during, and after COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place Order," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-16, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:6:p:3579-:d:774159
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/6/3579/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/6/3579/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Li, Dongying & Newman, Galen & Zhang, Tiantian & Zhu, Rui & Horney, Jennifer, 2021. "Coping with post-hurricane mental distress: The role of neighborhood green space," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    2. Kaczynski, A.T. & Potwarka, L.R. & Saelens P, B.E., 2008. "Association of park size, distance, and features with physical activity in neighborhood parks," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 98(8), pages 1451-1456.
    3. Lincoln R Larson & Viniece Jennings & Scott A Cloutier, 2016. "Public Parks and Wellbeing in Urban Areas of the United States," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(4), pages 1-19, April.
    4. Seulkee Heo & Chris C. Lim & Michelle L. Bell, 2020. "Relationships between Local Green Space and Human Mobility Patterns during COVID-19 for Maryland and California, USA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-16, November.
    5. Zoe M Volenec & Joel O Abraham & Alexander D Becker & Andy P Dobson, 2021. "Public parks and the pandemic: How park usage has been affected by COVID-19 policies," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(5), pages 1-18, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bobae Lee & Poungsik Yeon & Seoncheol Park, 2022. "The Factors and Relationships Influencing Forest Hiking Exercise Characteristics after COVID-19 Occurrence: At Seoul Metropolitan Area and in Hikers’ 20s and 30s," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Shabir Hussain Khahro & Mir Aftab Hussain Talpur & Musrat Gul Bhellar & Gopal Das & Haris Shaikh & Basel Sultan, 2023. "GIS-Based Sustainable Accessibility Mapping of Urban Parks: Evidence from the Second Largest Settlement of Sindh, Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-27, April.
    3. Shujuan Li & Bo Yang & Haiquan Li, 2023. "Using Big Data to Assess Park System Performance during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-17, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ying Xu & David Matarrita-Cascante & Jae Ho Lee & A.E. Luloff, 2019. "Incorporating Physical Environment-Related Factors in an Assessment of Community Attachment: Understanding Urban Park Contributions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-19, October.
    2. Diana Marina Camargo & Paula Camila Ramírez & Rogério César Fermino, 2017. "Individual and Environmental Correlates to Quality of Life in Park Users in Colombia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-10, October.
    3. Bohuslav Binka & Martin Čech & Jan Činčera, 2022. "The Oasis of Peace? Social Perception of Urban Parks from the City-Dwellers’ Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-15, September.
    4. Zhen Li & Wanmin Zhao & Miaoyao Nie, 2021. "Scale Characteristics and Optimization of Park Green Space in Megacities Based on the Fractal Measurement Model: A Case Study of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-18, July.
    5. Xiaohu Zhang & Scott Melbourne & Chinmoy Sarkar & Alain Chiaradia & Chris Webster, 2020. "Effects of green space on walking: Does size, shape and density matter?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(16), pages 3402-3420, December.
    6. Massoni, Emma Soy & Barton, David N. & Rusch, Graciela M. & Gundersen, Vegard, 2018. "Bigger, more diverse and better? Mapping structural diversity and its recreational value in urban green spaces," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(PC), pages 502-516.
    7. Huiying Ng, 2020. "Recognising the edible urban commons: Cultivating latent capacities for transformative governance in Singapore," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(7), pages 1417-1433, May.
    8. Somajita Paul & Harini Nagendra, 2017. "Factors Influencing Perceptions and Use of Urban Nature: Surveys of Park Visitors in Delhi," Land, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-23, April.
    9. Julian A. Reed & Rachel M. Ballard & Michael Hill & David Berrigan, 2020. "Identification of Effective Programs to Improve Access to and Use of Trails among Youth from Under-Resourced Communities: A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-33, October.
    10. Carolina Mayen Huerta & Ariane Utomo, 2022. "Barriers Affecting Women’s Access to Urban Green Spaces during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, April.
    11. Phi-Yen Nguyen & Thomas Astell-Burt & Hania Rahimi-Ardabili & Xiaoqi Feng, 2021. "Green Space Quality and Health: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-38, October.
    12. Evan Elderbrock & Chris Enright & Kathryn A. Lynch & Alexandra R. Rempel, 2020. "A Guide to Public Green Space Planning for Urban Ecosystem Services," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-23, October.
    13. Robert F. Baldwin & Nakisha T. Fouch, 2018. "Understanding the Biodiversity Contributions of Small Protected Areas Presents Many Challenges," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-12, October.
    14. Siqi Lai & Brian Deal, 2022. "Parks, Green Space, and Happiness: A Spatially Specific Sentiment Analysis Using Microblogs in Shanghai, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, December.
    15. Emad B. Dawwas & Karen Dyson, 2021. "COVID-19 Changed Human-Nature Interactions across Green Space Types: Evidence of Change in Multiple Types of Activities from the West Bank, Palestine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-21, December.
    16. Alexandra Jane Crossley & Alessio Russo, 2022. "Has the Pandemic Altered Public Perception of How Local Green Spaces Affect Quality of Life in the United Kingdom?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-14, June.
    17. Shirelle H. Hallum & Marilyn E. Wende & Farnaz Hesam Shariati & Kelsey M. Thomas & Anna L. Chupak & Eleanor Witherspoon & Andrew T. Kaczynski, 2024. "Unearthing Inequities in the Relationship between Multiple Sociodemographic Factors and Diverse Elements of Park Availability and Quality in a Major Southern Metropolitan Region," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(2), pages 1-19, February.
    18. Shixian Luo & Jing Xie & Katsunori Furuya, 2021. "“We Need such a Space”: Residents’ Motives for Visiting Urban Green Spaces during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-18, June.
    19. Karolina Dudzic-Gyurkovich, 2023. "Study of Centrality Measures in the Network of Green Spaces in the City of Krakow," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-30, September.
    20. Michael Lechner & Paul Downward, 2017. "Heterogeneous sports participation and labour market outcomes in England," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(4), pages 335-348, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:6:p:3579-:d:774159. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.