Public Participation in Urban Park Co-Construction: A Case Study on Exploring Sustainable Design Paths for County Cities in Kaiyuan County, Yunnan Province

Abstract

The rapid urbanization of the world has brought significant environmental, social, and economic challenges to human society. To build a sustainable county, there are many limiting factors, such as the environment, financial resources, and population. Based on this, the purpose of this study is to investigate how countries can empower their development through a sustainable design path for parks with the participation of all. The core of public participation in co-construction lies in the interactive relationship between the government, society, citizens, and many other groups. That is, “co-construction, co-governance, and sharing” is the basic content of the new pattern of social governance from the perspective of the park city; at its core is joint participation, division of labor, and cooperation. Using qualitative research methods, Kaiyuan, a county in Yunnan Province, was selected as a case study, focusing on the Phoenix Ecological Park and Happiness Lawn; citizens and managers were interviewed to explore paths for sustainable design in the counties. The contribution of this study is a research model of sustainable design for county parks with the participation of all the people. The study found that public participation should consider multiple co-constructions and formulate a sound sustainable design path from three dimensions: counties, managers, and citizens. Combined with the local characteristics of counties, the government has called on enterprises, organizations, and citizens to participate together in improving the quality of life and happiness of county residents. The results can be further verified in other counties.

1. Introduction

In 2015, the United Nations launched 17 development goals (SDGs) for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The SDG calls for safeguarding the health of residents, promoting urbanization and sustainable cities, and promoting sustainable consumption and production, which are closely related to urban sustainable development [1]. But the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024 reveals that only 17 per cent of the SDG targets are currently on track, nearly half with limited progress, and over a third stalled or regressing. By 2030, none of the 17 SDGs are expected to be achieved, with SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) particularly off track [2]. SDG 11 underscores three core priorities—equitable access to public spaces, community-driven governance, and fair allocation of green infrastructure—closely aligning with the sustainable design path for counties. China’s counties, pivotal in bridging urban and rural areas, face dual challenges: rapid urbanization’s pressure on ecological spaces and fiscal limits on public services [3]. Although Lee believes that these goals provide a blueprint and theoretical guidance for the sustainable development of counties [4], these globally applicable indicators face challenges in implementation in certain regions with multi-tiered administrative systems [5]. From the perspective of public participation and co-construction, sustainable design as the path to empowering county development remains to be explored. This study explores the question of whether the sustainable design path can be effectively applied to other counties and whether it will have a positive effect on them. This study uses Kaiyuan, a county in Yunnan Province, as a case study.

With the accelerated development of the world economy and the continuous expansion of the global population, the “low-carbon wave” aimed at energy conservation and environmental protection has swept the world [6]. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2025, China’s urban population is expected to reach about 1 billion people. There are 17 megacities, each with a population of more than 10 million [7]. Counties differ from large cities; the county government does not have sufficient fiscal revenue to support the large-scale, comprehensive, and multi-domain development of urban parks and facilities [8]. Under rigid fiscal constraints, the provision of public services by local governments often falls into a self-reinforcing cycle of “insufficient investment—inefficient utilization—systemic maintenance neglect”, which epitomizes the institutional fragility conceptualized in Elinor Ostrom’s Common-Pool Resources Theory (CPR) [9]. Ostrom defines institutional fragility as a condition in which institutional design fails to adequately adapt to available resources or sociocultural contexts [9,10]. This lack of adaptation makes governance rules vulnerable to external shocks or internal contradictions. Furthermore, such vulnerability increases the likelihood of systemic failure. Ultimately, these systemic failures undermine sustainability.

As a result, the sustainability of county parks faces significant challenges. The transition from institutional fragility to institutional failure is not a process that is impossible to reverse. The application of nested polycentric governance and dynamic rule adaptation enables stakeholders to collaborate to enhance institutional resilience, thus circumventing the collapse path of the collective action dilemma [10]. How can counties improve their sustainable development within their limited capacity if they lack advantages in terms of fiscal revenue, social resources, and population density compared to large-scale cities [11]?

As a county in Yunnan Province, Kaiyuan County is one of the typical cases of transforming construction from an old industrial county to an ecological county. It has made many attempts and explorations into the sustainable development of county parks. Since the turn of the 21st century, the plan to move toward ecological counties has been deeply influenced by the concepts of green counties and sustainable development counties [12]. According to the 2022 census, the population of Kaiyuan County is approximately 320,000 [13]. In 2023, the regional gross domestic product (GDP) of Kaiyuan was CNY 32.021 billion, about one percent of that of large cities [12]. Kaiyuan County has a considerable gap in economic development compared with large cities; however, the happiness index of its citizens is exceedingly high. Therefore, this study uses Kaiyuan as a case study of county sustainable design, which has practical and academic value for county development. The method adopted by Kaiyuan County is to build urban parks that serve the entire population. The economic output of Kaiyuan County is limited. The sustainable design path of co-construction counties can alleviate the pressure on the government and the environment, strengthen the awareness of sustainable development among citizens, and achieve the sustainable development of the county.

This study focuses on the discovery phase of fiscal–institutional interactions in resource-constrained counties. The core of the effective advice and methods available to us is the people. This study employs qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews with citizens and managers, to identify the critical variables that shape participatory governance. This study will provide a framework for the assessment of public perceptions and sentiments toward urban environmental and community sustainability initiatives. The findings of this study serve to advance the theoretical and practical understanding of fiscal–community synergies in the governance of sustainability.

2. Sustainable Design Path for County Parks

2.1. The Relevance of County Parks

The county-level city is normally a small city, a hybrid administrative region integrating the functions of the regional administrative region and urban administrative region [11]. As illustrated in

Table 1. City hierarchy in different countries.

	1st-Level Administrative Division	2nd-Level Administrative Division	3rd-Level Administrative Division	4th-Level Administrative Division
China	Municipality directly under the Central Government/Province/Autonomous Region	City/Autonomous Prefecture	County/Autonomous County/County-level City	Township/Town/Street
	Beijing/Yunnan Province/Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region	Kunming (in Yunnan Province)/Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture (in Yunnan Province)	Yiliang County (in Kunming City)/Kaiyuan county (in Honghe)	Tangzi Town (in Yiliang County)/Lebaidao (in Kaiyuan)
USA	State	County	City/Town	-
	California	Los Angeles County (in California)	Los Angeles (in Los Angeles County)/Beverly Hills (in Los Angeles County)
UK	County/Region	Borough/District	City/Town	-
	Greater London	London Borough of Westminster (in Greater London)	City of London (in the London Borough of Westminster)/Westminster (in the City of London)

, an intuitive understanding of the comparison of city levels between different countries is facilitated, and the concept of Kaiyuan as a third-level county is also clarified. This study focuses on the county of Kaiyuan. Compared with large cities, counties lack strong economic production, leading to brain drains, lag in many aspects of urban development, and lack forward-looking and targeted sustainable development strategies, which severely impede the progress towards sustainable cities and communities. Residents’ needs are not well met, especially for older adults and children who account for a higher proportion of the county population. As vulnerable groups, their needs are more likely to be marginalized. However, it should be noted that there are also opportunities for smaller cities to advance sustainable cities and communities. Firstly, counties have a lower rate of traffic congestion, pollution, and crime, making for a better quality of life [14]. Secondly, counties have distinct natural heritage, ethnic cultures, and local industries [15], showing significant potential in preserving local character and uniqueness [16]. This has led to a strong need for counties to adopt sustainable development strategies consistent with future local development [8,11]. Thus, exploring the pathways to achieve SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) from the perspective of counties is both feasible and necessary.

Providing urban services to residents is a core issue in county planning and sustainable design paths. In the context of the rapid growth of the urbanization level, there has been increasing concern with the ecosystem services value of public services [17]. Natural environments can positively impact psychological restoration and social well-being. The health benefits of green spaces may include providing natural light, promoting physical activity, offering opportunities for social interaction, and potentially reducing crime rates [18]. Urban green spaces can positively impact the mental health of the elderly and children [19,20]. However, fiscally constrained counties must balance the overall infrastructure needs to maintain city operations and vitality against excessive investment in green space construction. How to reasonably improve county parks to ensure their effective use is the focus of how urban services are provided [21]. Due to the varied needs of county citizens, their access to urban parks is influenced by the distribution of various services.

The quality of the ecological environment has become a key factor affecting the well-being of citizens [22,23]. Daily contact with nature is crucial for a happy, productive, and meaningful life. Biophilic cities, which facilitate this contact, show stronger resilience and adaptability when facing future shocks, such as climate change, natural disasters, and economic uncertainty [24]. County parks can increase residents’ sense of happiness by providing free channels for citizen interaction, relieving stress, restoring mental fatigue, and providing opportunities to participate in volunteer work [25]. The use of some fixed-service facilities is limited by the location of services in the city [26]. Therefore, it is necessary for the government to plan and improve urban parks and green spaces in a reasonable manner to provide better public services for residents [27].

One method for establishing clear goals and directions for park construction is to analyze the corresponding indicators from successful parks. The first national park in the world, Yellowstone National Park in the United States (established in 1872), was established as a “public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people”, demonstrating the characteristics of being “public” and “for the public good” [28]. The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau National Park public welfare evaluation index system is composed of six aspects: managers, community residents, enterprises and social organizations, tourists, the public, and wildlife. Given the current conditions of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, the index system includes wildlife protection, medical security, and emergency rescue [29]. The national public welfare system is mainly focused on the following five aspects: (1) universal ownership, (2) safeguarding the interests of community residents and achieving co-management and sharing, (3) inspiring the participation of enterprises and social organizations, (4) providing recreational and educational services for the public, and (5) encouraging public participation in the management of national parks [29].

Zhang et al. [30] conducted empirical research on the Giant Panda National Park, utilizing the evaluative framework and index system of public welfare. The study not only verified the practical manifestation of public welfare within the park but also unveiled the perceptual disparities among various stakeholders. These findings have furnished practical evidence and constructive recommendations for enhancing public welfare in national parks. In contrast to the indicators of national protected parks, the evaluation indicators of county parks include the degree of citizen participation, the degree of receiving complaints, citizen opinions and improvement measures, citizen respect, inclusive design, diverse projects in urban parks, and urban park activities [31]. The index system includes the basic administrative mechanism of the park, the well-being and willingness of citizens, the participation of enterprises and social organizations, the experience effect tourists, and the participation and perception of the public.

As highlighted by Jenny Roe [20], the quality of green spaces—particularly visibility, perceived accessibility, and actual use—may outweigh mere quantitative measures, as subjective green space experiences often diverge from objectively measured proximity metrics [18,32]. Because the perspective of citizen interaction experience has not been considered, many urban park designs cannot adequately meet the public’s needs and preferences. The design of health devices in the park may be objectively beneficial to the public’s health. However, when the public experiences problems they do not understand, do not use, or do not use well, the result is a negative experience and low evaluation by the public. Therefore, the design and policy formulation of park devices should consider humanization, visualization, and ease of use.

2.2. Public Participation in Co-Construction

Public participation in co-construction has become an important aspect of sustainable design for future smart cities. Berntzen studied the framework and model of “+City x Change” public participation and co-construction in a European “Horizon 2020” smart city project [33]. Arnstein established “A Ladder of Citizen Participation” calling on urban citizens to participate in the work and policy implementation of local government urban construction [34]. This model has become a foundational theory in the fields of urban planning and public policy. Subsequent researchers have examined the influence of social interactions and power structures on urban governance, building upon this model [35,36]. Starting from the three dimensions of government, society, and citizens, a refined and sustainable design path for county parks and green spaces is carried out in the four aspects of space, maintenance, management, and operation of urban park co-construction [37]. City governments play a coordinating role in top-level design, developing a planning and design system for the co-construction of urban parks and public services, formulating implementation plans, and establishing assessment mechanisms [38]. The local government conducts a park assessment every five years. It uses standardized and systematic evaluation methods to scientifically evaluate the management scope, management capacity, resource investigation and monitoring, science popularization and nature education, rational utilization, community coordination, management effectiveness, and citizen experience of county parks. The assessments provide a basis and guidance for optimizing and improving the construction and management of county parks. The evaluation results can be used as an important reference for formulating and adjusting park management policies [39].

In the context of counties, the participation of all the people in co-construction is a new form of social governance and a basic and stable relationship formed in social development. This process reflects the interactive relationship of the government, society, citizens, and numerous other subjects—co-construction, co-governance, and sharing—which inherently possess characteristics of publicity and collective action [40,41]. The fundamental principles of this model emphasize service and sustainability. The participation of all the people in the joint construction requires the government to call on citizens to exert their own power for the sustainable development of the county. This is reflected in park construction, park maintenance, park protection, park sharing, and park experience [33,35,41,42]. One of the methods for building and improving an excellent co-constructed urban park system is to encourage the participation of the public to cooperatively establish a sound mechanism and interactive relationship between parks and citizens [43,44].

The social relationships of co-construction have demonstrated significant potential in driving social innovation in underdeveloped regions. Yong qi Lou from Tongji University posits that the pursuit of absolute urbanization and concomitant lifestyle choices are inherently at odds with the attainment of sustainable resources and environmental development [45]. In the context of China’s contemporary New Rural Construction initiatives, the establishment of harmonious human–nature symbiotic living environments is imperative, contingent upon fundamental respect for local ecological conditions [46]. The involvement of the public in the co-construction of county parks has the potential to address inadequate financial resources in these areas. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that such initiatives can enhance citizen enthusiasm and foster a sense of collective experience, thereby contributing to a novel social governance paradigm for county parks.

This paradigm is characterized by the principles of co-construction, co-governance, and sharing. Encouraging public participation in the creation and management of urban parks can better coordinate social interests in their construction [47]. Social organizations can leverage the advantages of their professional and human resources, organize volunteer teams, participate in the co-construction of parks, and ensure the diversity and sustainability of park cities [35,48]. Gagliardi et al. [42] believe that individual entities can participate in the management of co-construction park city affairs. For example, they can serve as “citizen gardeners”, participating in activities such as green space donation, reforestation, donations of public property, garbage collection, and maintenance of public property [25]. The gradually formed governance pattern of co-construction parks is key to the foundation, stability, and diversity of county governance systems [33].

2.3. Sustainable Design of Counties

The issue of sustainable urban development occupies a critical position on the global agenda, and its implementation measures and methods are influenced by comprehensive factors [49]. Beatley [24] posits the notion that biophilic cities, by virtue of their capacity to curtail ecological footprints, enhance quality of life, and engender economic opportunities, serve as catalysts for urban sustainability. Also proposed are the fostering of community social capital and cohesion through social activities, the cultivation of resilience via natural environments, and the facilitation of educational engagement that instills environmental protection awareness in youth while boosting families’ stress coping capacities.

Douglas Farr made an urgent call for action on sustainable urban development, while acknowledging the importance of “Sustainable Urbanism”. He advocated for cities to create and enhance places suitable for walking and diversity (such as urban parks) combined with the need to build high-performance infrastructure and buildings [50]. When exploring high-quality sustainable design for a county, it is necessary to comprehensively consider various aspects of urban residents, including social, economic, cultural, emotional, behavioral, and other background factors [41]. Research by Baharak Mousa-pour shows that biophilic design has a significant positive impact on residents’ satisfaction [42]. Dustin Maneethai’s research demonstrates that biophilic design enhances workplace environments, fostering job seekers’ organizational pride while strengthening job pursuit intentions and perceived employer attractiveness, potentially stimulating local economic development [51].

Contemporary sustainability governance models emphasize transdisciplinary integration, operationalized through systematic alignment of demographic variables, resource flows, cultural capital, spatial configurations, consumption regimes, and decision-making architectures. The sustainable design method of public participation in co-construction is founded on three dimensions: government, society, and citizens. It encompasses sustainability in the following areas: functional, maintenance, energy, health, happiness, and construction and development. This method was employed to create a sustainable design path for county parks, reflecting the idea of collaborative urban design. Multi-party co-construction, co-governance, and sharing are conducive to enhancing the sense of participation, belonging, and responsibility of citizens, and promoting sustainable co-constructed urban parks [52].

County governments call for the joint construction of urban parks, management of park resources in a refined manner, emphasizing the co-construction of urban parks as the primary goal, using the county sustainable design path and the “collaborative urban design (co-design)” strategy, utilizing their advantages to complement each other, and promoting the sustainable development of the county [53]. For fiscally constrained county-level cities in China, the development of public service infrastructure, such as urban parks, frequently encounters institutional barriers: funding providers prioritize short-term fiscal survival over long-term resource sustainability. Consequently, local governments often resort to frontloading future land sales to maintain fiscal equilibrium rather than investing in public facility construction [54,55]. Concurrently, the systematic exclusion of users from collective-choice arenas during planning phases results in structural misalignment between facility design and resident needs [56].

This institutional inefficiency extends beyond infrastructure provision to engender multisectoral welfare losses, including energy insecurity, park under provision, deferred maintenance, and compromised public health outcomes [8]. Ward Thompson’s study observed that short-term interventions exhibit limited efficacy in improving community mental health and quality of life [57]. Moreover, the absence of maintenance funding allocation mechanisms and performance evaluation frameworks during facility operation cycles reflects a systemic mismatch between governance rules and resource characteristics, which constitutes a systematic violation of Ostrom’s Design Principles for sustainable commons governance [9]. This institutional incongruence inevitably triggers resource degradation and governance failure, plunging completed projects into sustainability dilemmas; they lack feedback-driven dynamic optimization mechanisms while struggling to meet basic operational standards.

To escape this institutional dilemma, county governments’ strategic reorientation manifests in prioritization of existing asset optimization rather than development of new recreational infrastructure. This strategy entails boundary demarcation of underutilized natural/semi-natural green spaces (e.g., wastelands, riparian zones)—hereinafter referred to as “marginal parcels”, denoting land segments with untapped ecological utility due to administrative fragmentation or perceptual neglect—redefining them as formal park areas. Such spatial reconfiguration minimizes land tenure disputes while preserving ecological integrity through low-cost habitat restoration. At the same time, local governments act as proxy planners, collaborating with social organizations to co-design park development strategies and implementation plans at the county level—a pragmatic way to achieve sustainable territorial governance. Its specific effectiveness requires interviews with residents of the county, combined with analysis of multiple data sources and literature case studies, to obtain methods, suggestions, and examples of the sustainable design of county parks [58].

3. Research Methods

3.1. Framework

This study focuses on the discovery phase of fiscal–institutional interactions in resource-constrained counties. The core of what effective advice and methods are available to us is the people. Through qualitative methods—including in-depth interviews with citizens and managers—we aim to identify critical variables shaping participatory governance and map institutional adaptation pathways that counter maintenance neglect and enhance institutional resilience. Interviews were conducted around the purpose and content of this study: urban parks, public participation in co-construction, and sustainable urban development. Figure 1 illustrates the research framework, which consists of three main steps: 1. Case Selection, 2. Data Collection, and 3. Data Analysis.

3.2. Interview Subjects

In Yunnan Province, Kaiyuan City’s economic strength score is 50.5. It ranks 547th nationally among all small counties in China, surpassing 1698 administrative counties in China, surpassing 67.8% of Chinese counties, and positioning it in the middle tier [59]. The per capita green area of parks in Kaiyuan is as high as 15.97 square meters, 54 km of greenways have been built, 65 county parks have been built, and 44.42% of the urban green area has been covered [60]. Therefore, Kaiyuan has significant advantages among counties. Kaiyuan County is located in the southeast of Yunnan Province, China (Figure 2). This study applies field investigation, qualitative research, and case analysis as its core research methodologies. During the field investigation, we conducted research and visited the Phoenix Ecological Park and the Happiness Lawn in Kaiyuan County, Yunnan Province (Figure 3).

The durability of public spaces hinges on the dynamic interplay between institutional frameworks and user practices, with qualitative research focusing on two types: citizens and administrators. Through face-to-face interviews, 20 citizens of Kaiyuan County (coded A as shown in Figure 4 and

Table A1. Interviewer demographics.

Code	Gender	Age	Occupation/Unit/Type	Duration
A1	Male	45	Taxi driver	30 min
A2	Male	35	High school teacher	35 min
A3	Female	24	Prison staff	30 min
A4	Female	35	Prison staff	30 min
A5	Male	55	Phoenix Ecological Park Management Office/Staff member	35 min
A6	Male	60	Cement plant employee	40 min
A7	Male	55	Power company Stuff	35 min
A8	Female	50	Undisclosed	35 min
A9	Female	35	Undisclosed	35 min
A10	Female	30	Kaiyuan County Museum/Tour Guide	45 min
A11	Female	70	Dali people (non-native)	35 min
A12	Male	40	Taxi driver	35 min
A13	Male	35	Taxi driver	30 min
A14	Male	45	Taxi driver	40 min
A15	Male	40	Taxi driver	35 min
A16	Male	50	Taxi driver	30 min
A17	Male	60	Elderly	30 min
A18	Female	60	Elderly	40 min
A19	Female	55	Elderly	30 min
A20	Female	60	Taxi driver	35 min
B1	Female	39	Housing and Urban–Rural Development Bureau/Deputy director	40 min
B2	Male	25	Natural Resources Bureau/Urban planner	45 min
B3	Female	25	Street Office Propaganda Department/Urban Culture Propaganda Officer	60 min
B4	Male	32	Garden Bureau/Director	40 min
B5	Female	40	Housing and Urban–Rural Development/Bureau Director	40 min
B6	Male	40	Greening Company/General Manager	45 min

) and six administrators of Kaiyuan County Government (coded B as shown in Figure 4 and Table A1) were interviewed. Those interviews included the Deputy Director of the Housing and Urban–Rural Development Bureau, Urban Planning Officer of the Natural Resources Bureau, Urban Culture Propaganda Officer of the Street Office Propaganda Department, Director of the Garden Bureau, Director of the Housing and Urban–Rural Development Bureau, and the manager of Greening Landscape in Kaiyuan County.

3.3. Interview Sampling Method

This study adopted a semi-structured interview approach. The strict formulation of qualitative semi-structured interview questions helped to enhance the objectivity and credibility of the research and made the results more reasonable [61].

Interviews were conducted around the purpose and content of this study: urban parks, public participation in co-construction, and sustainable urban development. In order to enhance the scientific nature of this study, it is assumed that urban construction is conducted with the participation of multiple parties. The interviews were conducted according to the outline of the questions listed in this study. The interview times for each interviewee varied. The interview time for Kaiyuan citizens was approximately 30–45 min, and the interview time for government officials and greening personnel was about 45–60 min. In the interview process, the management adopted the method of gradually emerging in the selection of interviewees. When the number of interviewees reached six, the data overlapped and reached saturation, which met the academic requirements [62]. In the interviews with citizens, when the number of interviewed citizens reached 20, the data were saturated and met the academic requirements. When these thresholds were met, the interview was stopped [63].

Random interviews were conducted with passers-by in Kaiyuan County park; these interviews did not result in any delays for citizens. The interviews were recorded with the consent of the interviewees. After the on-site recording of the management interview, a verbatim draft was organized. The researchers verified the verbatim draft through on-site written records, compiled them into transcripts, verified and confirmed the verbatim manuscript, and coded and analyzed the content. When the researcher had conducted a sufficient number of interviews, subsequent interviews did not provide added information, meaning that saturation of the sample and data had been reached [64]. This interview time proved to be effective and recognized [65,66]. At the same time, this insured a reasonable number of samples for the research object. Following rigorous research methods, detailed scientific methods were adopted for the proposed research questions and hypotheses, the data collection was analyzed and explained, qualitative research interviews were conducted, and the research process was documented.

The interviews with citizens were conducted using the purposive random sampling method, following the principle of purposive sampling [67]. Kaiyuan citizens of different ages, genders, and social backgrounds were interviewed as much as possible to enhance and enrich the scientific nature of the study. Interviews with management personnel were conducted using the snowball sampling method [41]. The selection criteria included a requirement that the interviewees had worked in Kaiyuan County for more than 10 years, had been responsible for the construction, maintenance, and management of the Phoenix Ecological Park and Happiness Lawn, and had a deep understanding of Kaiyuan’s urban ecology, urban public space, urban services, and urban public participation in co-construction.

3.4. Interview Questions

There were different interview questions for specific groups and research subjects, and the design of the questions followed general cognitive theory. Based on various perspectives and dimensions regarding county parks, public participation in co-construction, and sustainable design paths for the county, a preliminary interview outline was formulated [8,23,37,41,50]. The four key dimensions of sustainability in county park systems—living conditions, environmental experience, co-construction of urban parks, and county sustainable design paths—laid the foundation for the interview questions [68]. After conducting group focus interviews, three professors and three PhDs were invited to fully discuss and revise the interview questions. Finally, the formal interview questions were obtained:

(1)

Interviews with citizens of Kaiyuan County on the issue of the Phoenix Ecological Park/Happiness Lawn:

• Q1: How do you feel about living in Kaiyuan?
• Q2: What do you think of the Phoenix Ecological Park/Happiness Lawn?
• Q3: How would you like to recommend the Phoenix Ecological Park/Happiness Lawn to your family and friends?
• Q4: What do you think of the volunteers who donated chairs and planted trees for the Phoenix Ecological Park/Happiness Lawn? Are you willing to be a volunteer for the Phoenix Ecological Park/Happiness Lawn, and why?
• Q5: Do you have any expectations for the future of the Phoenix Ecological Park/Happiness Lawn?

(2)

Interviews with Kaiyuan County management personnel:

• Q1: Why did the Kaiyuan Municipal Government build the Phoenix Ecological Park and the Happiness Lawn? What was the original intention?
• Q2: How does the government maintain the normal operation of the Phoenix Ecological Park and the Happiness Lawn?
• Q3: What experiences or methods can you share?
• Q4: How does the selection of national civilized counties guide the construction of urban parks in Kaiyuan County?
• Q5: How does the government call for and organize enterprises, social organizations, groups, and individuals to jointly build urban parks?

4. Data Collection and Analysis

4.1. High-Frequency Term Statistics

Based on qualitative interviews with 20 Kaiyuan citizens and six urban management officials, we first extracted high-frequency term statistics. These terms, to a significant extent, reflect the public’s prioritized concerns, thereby facilitating targeted identification of key governance issues in subsequent research.

Following a thorough statistical analysis, a high-frequency word frequency statistic was obtained. The research results demonstrate that a particular vocabulary was repeatedly mentioned, including such terms as “happy Kaiyuan people”, “good greening”, “low prices”, “entertainment and relaxation”, “health”, “walking and jogging”, and “ecological city” (Figure 5). When the research sample was saturated, some words had been mentioned repeatedly, an unexpected occurrence in qualitative interviews. For instance, the average number of mentions was between two and three. These high-frequency words can, to a certain extent, reflect the concerns of the general public.

For citizens, the research data reached saturation when managers interviewed six individuals. The research results demonstrated that vocabulary such as “sustainable development”, “residents’ happiness”, “public participation in co-construction”, “urban park construction”, “ecological city”, “park greening”, and “green development” were repeatedly mentioned (Figure 6). It is notable that several high-frequency words were mentioned as many as five times.

4.2. Thematic Analysis

Due to the unavoidable limitations of simple word frequency statistics—such as the inability to capture contextual meanings of terms and the oversight of low-frequency yet critical information, which can distort statistical results—we conducted iterative cycles of induction, synthesis, and analysis of interview data from 20 citizens and six urban management officials. The influencing factors were identified based on four key dimensions—living conditions, environmental experience, co-construction of urban parks, and county sustainable design paths—derived from the research questions, then coded and thematically categorized. By combining thematic analysis with quantitative and qualitative perspectives, we have balanced methodological approaches. Finally, the interview content and perspectives from both citizens and urban management officials were integrated into a decision tree conceptual diagram (Figure 7 and Figure 8).

This study organized the content and data obtained from citizen interviews into the six directions identified in Figure 7. Guided by residents’ needs, it explored diverse perspectives on the co-creation and sustainable development of county-level parks.

(1) Functional sustainability: The primary users of urban parks are well-educated individuals in their thirties and forties. As a small county town, Kaiyuan’s use and perception of county parks vary among separate groups: adults prefer to engage in recreational activities, while teenagers prefer to socialize and relax in parks [69]. A1 said, “In the past, public security in Kaiyuan was very poor, so many women did not dare to go out at night, but now public security is much better, and many women play in the parks, singing and dancing can be seen everywhere”. These are crucial to the diversity of county parks (Figure 9). Women are more active in urban parks than men, while older adults appreciate their aesthetic value more than young tourists [70]. Interviewees A11 and A12 said, “We occasionally take our families to visit and do some recreational activities during the holidays”. A3 and A4 said, “We mistake the Happiness Lawn as a cognitive huge prairie, but in fact, after experiencing it, we find that it is a large lawn because our expectations are too high, so there is a little disappointment”. A2 stated that Phoenix Ecological Park offers interesting activities during the summer, such as the park marathon. This kind of activity not only enhances citizens’ awareness of sports and physical fitness but also expands the channels for communication among citizens and strengthens their awareness of sustainable development.

(2) Maintenance sustainability: In the Phoenix Ecological Park, interviewees A8, A9, and A10 believe that the maintenance of the park was not of great concern to them, but the government and social organizations would call on residents to jointly maintain and build the ecology of the park, such as planting trees, picking up garbage, and making home for wildlife [71]. A6 and A7 said, “Counties should rationally plan green spaces such as county green spaces, parks and street greening”. In fact, limited by the income of the county, the Kaiyuan Municipal Government has outsourced the maintenance work to Kaiyuan Nanpu Landscape Engineering Co., Ltd. (Kaiyuan City, China), which is responsible for the greening and maintenance of urban parks. A15–A17 talked about the Happiness Lawn as an important grass in Kaiyuan (Figure 9). Its construction is based on the original natural landscape, and in terms of sustainability in construction and maintenance, it calls on citizens to participate in the construction and maintenance of the Happiness Lawn by organizing voluntary participation [40].

(3) Freshwater sustainability: Interviewees A15–A18 stated that they strongly agree with counties to build public direct drinking water sources in parks (Figure 9). They emphasized that this sustainable design approach not only provides drinking water to address hydration needs in urban parks, allowing residents to access healthy water independently and reducing the costs associated with purchasing bottled water outdoors, but also positions Kaiyuan Park as an emergency shelter area. During extreme weather events, earthquakes, pandemics, or other unavoidable disasters, the park can offer safe refuge and purified water to residents. Additionally, the water storage facilities in the park serve ecological functions, including water resource utilization and conservation, climate regulation, and broader ecological services. A2 believed that public drinking water can improve the quality of life of urban residents, enhance their sense of happiness, and promote sustainable development across ecological, economic, and social dimensions [36]. A portion of the treated water is repurposed as a public drinking water source, while the remainder is applied through scientific and rational irrigation methods to nourish plants and flowers in the county’s parks (Figure 9).

(4) Health sustainability: Interviewees A5, A10, and A13 said, “Phoenix Ecological Park is an important place for our citizens to walk, chat, and relax after dinner”. Some scholars believe that it is precisely because urban parks have these functions that they have unconsciously improved the healthy lives of urban residents and thus improved their happiness and well-being [60]. A14 believes that in Phoenix Ecological Park, a scientific, reasonable, and healthy sports track has been planned. In addition, A19 said that Kaiyuan County has a relatively complete medical equipment and medical system. It only takes 5–15 min to get from Phoenix Ecological Park to Kaiyuan People’s Hospital, which greatly reduces the response time for emergencies [27].

(5) Happiness sustainability: Interviewees A3 and A7 believe that, as an old industrial city, Kaiyuan has optimized the production methods of important industrial industries to better meet the needs of the development of an ecological city. Therefore, the preservation of old industrial industries helps to maintain the economic foundation of Kaiyuan County, stabilize employment opportunities, perfect the social security system, and improve the income level and quality of life of citizens [12]. A5 and A10 said that “Kaiyuan will convey the concept of “happiness” to local children through compulsory education and create a happy atmosphere accordingly, so as to ensure the clothing, food, housing, and transportation of citizens”. A19 and A20 said that Kaiyuan County ensures that separate groups can fairly enjoy the benefits brought about by the development of urban parks, reducing social injustice and wealth inequality (Figure 3). “Most people’s income is not very high, and prices here are also relatively cheap”. According to statistics, over 50% of the citizens interviewed stated that the prices in Kaiyuan County were generally low, which is also true of the county [13,60].

(6) County construction and sustainable development: Interviewees A1 and A6 believe that counties need to implement humanistic ideas. The Phoenix Ecological Park and the Happiness Lawn have created fair, inclusive, and shared county parks, ensuring that the achievements of county construction benefit all citizens, while paying attention to the user experience and needs of vulnerable groups (Figure 3). There are many sustainable design cases for this group in the parks [13]. A7 and A8 said, “We very much agree with the chairs in the county parks. These chairs are donated by different citizens, some from corporate groups, some from school students, some from individual families, and some of the chairs have a message on them, such as “To save energy is to use energy more efficiently”, “To every unwilling ordinary you”, “Charm hometown, happiness far away”, and “Spread happiness to everyone”. These comments not only express the donor’s message for county life, and convey their wishes for a better life, but also help spread the concepts of co-construction, sharing, and co-governance. This sustainable design path for the co-construction of public facilities in county parks has a positive effect on the experience of citizens [47].

This interactive relationship has created a way of dialogue between people and urban parks, as well as between people, to a certain extent, and has enhanced communication between citizens and urban parks. Perhaps it has also created a sense of belonging among citizens and contributed to the improvement and implementation of sustainable design paths in the county [52]. Interviewees A2, A5, and A12 said that Kaiyuan County was previously an old industrial county. In recent years, Kaiyuan County has implemented measures to enhance the efficiency of obsolete industrial sectors, thereby mitigating environmental degradation. This initiative entailed the strategic relocation of manufacturing facilities to remote regions, a strategy that has been employed to minimize the impact of industrial activities on urban populations. Compared with other large cities, Kaiyuan County does not have an advantage in sustainable construction due to its scarce fiscal revenue, social resources, and population density. However, through joint construction and sustainable design paths, it alleviates government financial pressure, strengthens citizens’ awareness of sustainable development [8], and improves the sustainable development of the county.

This study organized the content and data obtained from interviews with urban management officials into the following five aspects: (1) park construction, (2) park maintenance, (3) park greening, (4) sustainable development issues, and (5) residents’ sense of happiness (Figure 8). Through these administrators’ professional perspectives, this study aimed to understand the government’s role in polycentric governance. The results of this analysis are as follows:

(1) Park construction: Interviewee B4 said “Kaiyuan Municipal Government optimized the management personnel structure of urban parks and called on social enterprises, organizational groups, and individual families to jointly build urban parks”. They built and maintained Phoenix Ecological Park and the Happiness Lawn by donating public facilities, planting trees together, collecting urban park waste together, and classifying them scientifically and rationally. B5 believes that the establishment of the Happiness Lawn next to the municipal government is a result of comprehensive considerations. The government hoped to build more urban parks and green spaces for citizens to use, allowing citizens to embrace the municipal government and engage in activities around it, forming a link between the government and citizens, and playing a role in jointly building county parks and maintaining park greening.

(2) Park maintenance: Park land in Kaiyuan City is owned by the municipal government, which does not directly engage in maintenance but leverages market forces to seek enterprise-driven solutions tailored to local conditions. The maintenance work has been outsourced to Kaiyuan Nanpu Landscape Engineering Co., Ltd. Interviewee B1 stated, “The annual maintenance investment in Kaiyuan County is 30 million yuan, with a total of about 400 urban sanitation workers, 600–700 maintenance staff in the Phoenix Ecological Park and the Happiness Lawn, and about 200 sanitation workers in Yangjie Village”. The total number of sanitation workers in the city is around 1200–1300, most of whom are former coal mine workers laid off during industrial restructuring or farmers transitioning from seasonal agricultural work. As coal mining jobs decline due to urban industrial transformation, their expertise in crop cultivation and local climate adaptation aligns with the specialized skills required for park maintenance. Therefore, in managing urban parks, Kaiyuan County not only ensures public welfare by generating significant employment opportunities, but also balances substantial financial investments required for maintenance, all while upholding free public access to these green spaces. B2 said, “Kaiyuan County is constructing a ‘smart town’ to relocate the old industrial industries on the original site and transform them into green industries or parks to maintain and alleviate the already heavily polluted environment and ecology”.

(3) Park greening: Interviewee B1 said that the greening of urban parks cannot be achieved without the participation of the entire population in co-construction. This method is based on the characteristics of Kaiyuan County itself. Kaiyuan County gathers different ethnic groups, and the theme of their lives is tolerance, mutual assistance, allowing for cultural differences, and jointly building a happy Kaiyuan County. As the general person in charge of landscape greening and maintenance in urban parks in Kaiyuan County, B6 stated that the parks in Kaiyuan County use local plants and flowers, which not only improve the utilization rate of local production, but also serve as a model to enhance the reputation of local green plants and flowers and expand exports.

(4) Sustainable development: On the one hand, interviewee B5 expressed recognition for Kaiyuan County as a sanitary county, ecological county, civilized county, and livable county, and that it has achieved great results in transforming from an “industrial city” to an “ecological city”. On the other hand, she also expressed concerns about the future sustainable development of Kaiyuan County. She believes that, as a county, the current population of Kaiyuan County is too small, with only about 320,000 people. The development and production of counties cannot be achieved without people, let alone high-quality talents. At the same time, Kaiyuan County lacks higher education, making it difficult to cultivate high-quality talent locally. Hopefully, more local children can return to home to build their hometowns after receiving higher education outside. However, the reality is that more young people are choosing to work outside and seek development in economically developed areas. In addition, Kaiyuan County is also facing the fundamental problem of declining birth rates.

(5) Residents’ sense of happiness: Interviewees B1 and B3 emphasized that the Kaiyuan Municipal Government has prioritized resident-centric development over aggressive economic expansion, focusing instead on enhancing the well-being of its multiethnic population. Despite its industrial economic foundation, the county maintains rigorous controls over market and housing prices to ensure equitable access to resources. As B2 noted, “Kaiyuan County exemplifies harmonious ethnic integration. Its urban planning and public services are designed to respect the cultural practices, lifestyles, and cognitive frameworks of diverse ethnic groups”. This commitment to inclusivity, coupled with strong social cohesion and mutual respect among communities, contributes significantly to the county’s high overall happiness index. However, urban residents’ sense of happiness is shaped by many factors. The key questions driving this study include the following: 1. How do citizens perceive and experience happiness in the context of public spaces? 2. How can policymakers accurately capture residents’ lived experiences in county parks? These questions not only reflect the concerns of local administrators but also define the core objectives of this research.

5. Discussion

An interesting viewpoint was observed in the interviews: Kaiyuan citizens and managers view county parks from different perspectives. Affected by economic status, education level, work situation, and social environment, most Kaiyuan residents have a higher satisfaction and happiness index for the county and county parks where they live. Their use of parks is mainly reflected in sports and health needs, entertainment and leisure needs, safety needs, communication, and interaction needs. At the same time, influenced by the idea of the whole people’s co-construction method, they are very willing to take the initiative to build their own county. From the point of view of government managers, more from the path of sustainable design, how to formulate a strategy for the participation of the whole people while minimizing any disadvantages to the county is the focus of their research (Figure 10). This study explored the following four points:

5.1. Public Participation in Co-Constructed Urban Parks: Institutional Resilience and Sustainable Design Insights

This study underscores how public participation in co-constructed urban parks fosters institutional resilience and charts a sustainable design pathway for resource-constrained counties. The Kaiyuan case demonstrates that citizen-driven collaboration—integrated with governmental and organizational efforts—transforms urban parks into dynamic commons, effectively addressing fiscal–institutional fragility. By embedding participatory governance into park design and maintenance, the model aligns with Ostrom’s principles of polycentric resource management, mitigating the “underinvestment-misuse-neglect” cycle through shared responsibilities and localized rule adaptation [9,10]. These findings validate co-construction as a scalable strategy for counties seeking to balance ecological transition, fiscal constraints, and community well-being while directly responding to the UN’s SDG framework for inclusive urban development.

The sustainable design path of jointly building public facilities in county parks has a positive effect on the experiences of citizens. A bottom-up approach that engages communities in participatory planning is essential. Lafrenz’s research demonstrates the significance of integrating community-driven and public health-oriented frameworks during the developmental phases of green space design [48]. This interactive relationship has created a new method of dialogue between people and county parks, as well as between people, enhancing communication between citizens and urban parks. Human–nature interactions enhance well-being through mechanisms including mental health improvement, social bonding reinforcement, and emotional belonging cultivation. These effects manifest concretely as stress alleviation, emotional restoration, social support networks, and positive affective attachments to environments [24]. It has also created a sense of belonging among citizens and contributed to the improvement and implementation of sustainable design paths in the county.

A variety of donors can engage in dialogue with citizens through material carriers, forming a special interactive method for park co-construction. This approach transforms transient philanthropic interventions into enduring symbolic presences, thereby enhancing participants’ environmental attitudes and visitation frequency [18,19,57]. Many respondents expressed that they could feel the “warmth of Kaiyuan” through the messages on the red bench, and the relationships between people are different from the coldness and alienation in developed counties. The Kaiyuan Municipal Government has established a long-term “partnership” with local social organizations and urban residents [36], calling on society to donate red benches and contribute to the construction of Kaiyuan County Park. This special joint construction method is beneficial not only for the early construction of the park but also for the sharing experience of residents. Obviously, a park that meets the needs of citizens will have a certain positive effect on their sense of happiness and urban identity (Figure 10) [32].

Older adults in Kaiyuan County organize square dance activities in groups in the park. Some retired older adults practice and perform small musical instruments in the park. Some older adults engage in Chinese martial arts Tai Chi exercises in the park to strengthen their bodies. Many young Kaiyuan citizens also organize outdoor hiking activities in the park (Figure 10). These activities allow the citizens of Kaiyuan County to use the functions of urban parks, enjoy the services of urban parks, and organize activities in urban parks on their own. The management staff has also designed targeted handrails for people with disabilities in the Happiness Lawn, considering the needs of a small number of people and improving the happiness of residents (Figure 10). The clock tower standing in the center of Phoenix Ecological Park is the Kaiyuan County Museum. When there are many visitors to the museum, a series of volunteer activities will be organized to explain the museum [72]. These activities have transformed the identity of citizens from “co-construction parks” to “sharing parks”, which is actually a manifestation of the participation of the entire population in the co-construction of urban parks [37]. It constitutes a new form of harmonious coexistence between humans and the natural environment [43].

Some respondents evaluated their preferences for urban parks based on the availability of opportunities for social activity. For instance, interviewees A3 and A4 expressed higher expectations for recreational amenities in the Happiness Lawn, noting that its vast natural landscapes lacked distinctive play facilities, resulting in insufficient recreational diversity. This observation may reflect a broader scarcity of leisure offerings in Kaiyuan County’s parks, highlighting the need for administrators to strategically enhance existing infrastructure. Under the theoretical framework of urban park co-construction, governments, enterprises, organizations, groups, and individuals must fulfill distinct roles, leverage comparative advantages, and collaborate through division of labor to strengthen social cohesion. Simultaneously, building on co-construction principles, a novel citizen-sharing model [35] can be realized—one that maximizes public benefits across park experiences while raising new questions for policymakers to address.

5.2. Redefining Happiness Metrics in County-Level Urbanization

This research revealed the uniqueness of happiness assessment frameworks for county residents. Unlike metropolitan dwellers, who prioritize economic indicators, Kaiyuan citizens associate happiness more closely with social cohesion, ethnic-cultural inclusivity, and public space accessibility. This finding challenges the GDP-centric paradigm of county development, confirming the leveraging effects of social equity (e.g., housing price controls) and cultural identity (e.g., multiethnic governance) in enhancing subjective happiness. The study offers a novel perspective for localizing SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), advocating for inclusive growth through social empowerment in public spaces rather than mere infrastructural investments.

In interviews with citizens and managers, we found that separate groups held different views on happiness. Citizens express their sense of happiness in the county more from the perspectives of life rhythm, life security, multiethnic culture, clothing, food, housing, transportation, economic income, housing prices, leisure, and entertainment. Management personnel, from the perspective of the executor, formulate policies based on the needs of citizens at various levels, such as strictly controlling market prices, uniting multiple ethnic groups, strengthening urban services, and reducing the wealth gap. In terms of parks, the government delegates a portion of the construction, maintenance, and use rights to citizens, allowing them to carry out activities on their own and consciously protect the park environment in order to form a long-term “partnership”.

Most citizens do not view urban parks from a utilitarian perspective. On the one hand, they believe that parks are important urban spaces that serve the needs of citizens, including sports and health needs, entertainment and leisure needs, safety needs, communication and interaction needs, etc. [68]. The enhancement of green space quantity and quality demonstrably benefits resident health and economic outcomes yet carries latent risks. As evidenced in Alessio Russo’s research, gentrification risks, including housing price escalation displacing original residents and tourist influx disrupting long-term residents’ daily routines, may impose adverse effects on residential happiness over time [73].

5.3. Biophilic Design as a Low-Cost Pathway for Ecological Transition

Kaiyuan’s experience demonstrates that the transition to an ecological county can be achieved through “low-cost naturalized retrofits”. Utilizing marginal parcels (e.g., abandoned industrial zones) for park construction avoids land tenure disputes while minimizing operational costs through native vegetation applications and citizen-led maintenance. This “acupuncture-style incremental renewal” strategy provides a replicable template for green transitions in developing counties, emphasizing the integration of ecological restoration with social participation. However, the success of this model relies heavily on existing social capital, posing adaptability challenges in counties with fragmented kinship structures or high migrant populations. The happiness index of residents is shaped by a multitude of factors within the county, and the assessment of urban parks plays a significant role in influencing residents’ sense of well-being and urban identity. Furthermore, these county-level co-construction mechanisms offer enhanced prospects for advancing environmental protection and sustainable development. This encompasses the sustainable management of natural resources, the protection and restoration of biodiversity and landscapes, efficient water resource management, and proactive measures to mitigate climate change and reduce air pollutant emissions.

In recent years, Kaiyuan County has actively explored sustainable design in the county and has successfully transformed from an “industrial city” to an “ecological city” [13]. However, in interviews with the management personnel of Kaiyuan County, we identified a problem regarding the future development of Kaiyuan County: the population is too small. Therefore, everyone is especially important in Kaiyuan, and paying attention to the happy lives of every Kaiyuan resident is the key to the sustainable design and development of Kaiyuan County [47]. The ecological transformation of counties enhances livability and residential well-being [74], yet long-term sustainable development pathways must be grounded in economic viability. Although biophilic design is significant in shaping emotional and cognitive evaluations among job seekers through links to the natural world [51], the current efficacy of Kaiyuan’s strategies in attracting younger labor forces remains uncertain. Pragmatic approaches—such as optimizing the perceived accessibility of green spaces and reducing maintenance expenditures—hold greater immediate applicability. At present, the construction of the two parks has been completed.

The maintenance of urban parks requires financial expenditure on the one hand, and on the other hand, it also needs to guide the support and assistance of various sectors of society to start from insignificant things around them and jointly maintain urban parks. For example, organizing citizens to carry out voluntary activities, such as planting trees, cleaning up urban park waste, maintaining the ecological environment of parks, and organizing urban park marathons (Figure 10) [42]. Urban Park greening must be based on local characteristics, emphasizing the linkage between the government and citizens, and the participation of the entire population in maintenance [41].

5.4. Limitations and Boundary Conditions of the Co-Construction Model

This study reveals the inherent limitations of the public co-construction model. First, Kaiyuan’s successful implementation hinges on its cohesive social network (population: 320,000) and strong government mobilization, which may hinder scalability in counties with populations exceeding one million or fragmented governance structures. Second, the limited sample size (n = 26) and exclusion of migrant worker perspectives constrain the generalizability of the findings. Additionally, the absence of longitudinal data raises uncertainties about long-term sustainability, particularly regarding volunteer retention and intergenerational participation patterns. While the research outcomes are contextually anchored in Kaiyuan County, they offer significant theoretical and practical insights, constituting a core scientific contribution. Extending this model to counties and parks with distinct economic, cultural, or environmental contexts warrants further empirical validation and adaptive refinement.

6. Conclusions

The sustainable development of counties is a complex process shaped by multidimensional ecological governance, collaborative co-construction mechanisms, and enhanced public participation efficacy. To advance this goal, a holistic approach must integrate ecological priorities with social inclusivity while leveraging the strengths of diverse stakeholders.

From an ecological governance perspective, county park construction should prioritize sustainability through park maintenance, greening practices, and environmental protection, while simultaneously addressing residents’ well-being. This requires tailoring strategies to local conditions, such as designing parks accessible to special groups, expanding shared public spaces for low-income communities, and fostering citizen awareness of sustainability. Equally critical is the establishment of collaborative co-construction mechanisms that engage enterprises, organizations, and individuals in fulfilling their roles. By capitalizing on their respective strengths and coordinating responsibilities, these actors can drive social cohesion and meet citizens’ latent needs through initiatives like the “co-construction parks” and “sharing parks” model (Figure 10). Furthermore, enhancing public participation ensures that residents not only evaluate parks from experiential and functional perspectives but also actively contribute to their co-construction. Through self-organized activities and shared ownership, citizens improve their quality of life, strengthen sustainability awareness, and ultimately elevate collective happiness—a cornerstone of county-level sustainable development.

Future research should expand perspectives by incorporating feedback from tourists and migrants on park construction in Kaiyuan, while deeper case studies of Phoenix Ecological Park and the Happiness Lawn could refine urban co-construction models. This study belongs to the sustainable design series and is also one of its related achievements. In the future, quantitative and qualitative methods will be applied in the sustainable research of counties to conduct a series of studies. The conclusions drawn from this study can be further verified in the sustainable development of other counties.