Search Results (99)

Urban parks provide diverse cultural ecosystem services (CESs), which are crucial for residents’ mental well-being. However, few studies have investigated how urban parks’ CESs and their interactions vary across seasons. In this study, we used the downtown area of Chengdu, China, as a case study, and evaluated urban parks’ CESs based on social media comments and further explored their seasonal dynamics. We then analysed the seasonal trade-offs/synergies of these CESs for service pairs using Pearson correlation and for multiple services using bundle identification. The results show the following: (1) Most CESs except for social interaction had the highest intensities in autumn, and recreational activities and education were the CESs with the highest and lowest intensities among the four seasons, respectively. Education service showed the greatest seasonal variation, while recreational activities and physical and mental recovery were stable among different seasons. (2) Some CES pairs exhibited trade-offs/synergies, but those relationships changed over seasons. Specifically, there were trade-off/synergy relationships between seven CES pairs in spring, three CES pairs in summer and autumn, and four CES pairs in winter. (3) In terms of the trade-offs/synergies among multiple CESs, we identified three types of CES bundles, i.e., physical and mental recovery- and aesthetics-dominated, inspiration- and education-dominated, and social interaction- and recreation-dominated bundles. More than 50% of the urban parks exhibited the physical and mental recovery- and aesthetics-dominated bundle in four seasons, and the seasonal change between this bundle and the social interaction and recreation-dominant bundle was the most obvious among all the bundle changes. This study revealed urban parks’ CES seasonal dynamics and identified the seasonal variations in CES trade-offs/synergies, providing a reference for CES management in urban parks. Full article

Interest in improving roadside services for long-haul truckers’ health, safety, and well-being has led to an effort to describe the services offered at truck stop/rest areas. This study aimed to describe services offered in truck stop and rest areas and to determine, based on what was available, their implications for the health of long-haul truck drivers. A systematic and structured direct observation of thirteen truck stop and rest areas was undertaken within one state in the US on a major north–south interstate highway from October 2023 to June 2024. The categories of services observed included food, physical activity, rest, personal hygiene and health, and safety. A descriptive analysis of the data was performed. Seventeen visits were carried out in 13 truck stop and rest areas. All sites offered paved parking areas, with lighting and signage; 92% offered internet access; more than 85% offered food, safety, and personal hygiene services; 69% offered laundry services; 54% had a convenience store and hotel nearby; and 15% had green/natural areas with benches. The services offered at the truck stop and rest areas in this study meet the basic needs of food, personal hygiene, and safety of truckers and can serve as lessons for other states and countries to consider. Full article

This paper presents a simulation study and development of a prototype of an integrated electronic system, specifically designed to enhance both the safety and the comfort of passengers and drivers in modern vehicles. The proposed system provides intelligent assistance during parking maneuvers by alerting the driver to nearby obstacles, and it also actively monitors the internal environment of the car cabin to detect the presence of harmful gases such as carbon monoxide, thereby improving occupant safety. In order to accomplish these objectives, a detailed functional algorithm was created and a corresponding structural scheme was designed. Simulation studies were carried out using the Tinkercad platform to validate the theoretical model and to test the behavior of the system components under realistic conditions. After a successful simulation, the physical prototype of the system was assembled and tested in a laboratory environment. The core of the system is based on the Arduino UNO microcontroller, which offers flexibility, ease of programming, and integration capabilities with various sensors and actuators. The study demonstrates the potential of low-cost microcontroller-based solutions for intelligent automotive systems focused on active safety and enhanced user experience. Full article

The proximity of urban green spaces to residential areas has become a central principle in contemporary urban planning, with cities worldwide adopting “15-minute city” concepts that prioritize walking-distance access to parks. This study examined whether proximity to different types of parks influences park visitation, physical activity, and mental well-being in Bangkok, Thailand, where the government recently launched a 15-minute parks policy initiative to improve the proximity of urban residents to green spaces. Using a cross-sectional survey of 615 residents across Bangkok’s 50 districts, we measured proximity to six park types using GIS network analysis and assessed health outcomes through validated instruments (Global Physical Activity Questionnaire, GPAQ for physical activity GPAQ for physical activity, and WHO-5 for well-being). Our findings revealed that only proximity to community parks (5–20 ha) was significantly associated with park visitation, sufficient physical activity, and good well-being. Proximity to smaller parks, including the new 15-minute parks, pocket parks, and neighborhood parks, showed no significant associations with any health outcomes, despite being within walking distance. These results suggest a critical size threshold below which parks cannot generate health and well-being benefits in Bangkok’s environment. The findings challenge the argument commonly used in proximity-based green space policies that assume closer parks automatically improve park visitation and public health benefits, indicating that cities facing similar constraints should balance between providing small park networks and securing larger, functional parks to support meaningful recreational use or health improvements. Full article

This study employs Hannah Arendt’s (1958) the human condition as a philosophical framework to examine walking not merely as a physical activity but as a meaningful form of environmental consciousness. Homo faber, which denotes tool making, corresponds to the nature-based railway regeneration exemplified by the Gyeongui Line Forest Park in Seoul City, South Korea. By applying walking as a method, bifurcated themes are explored: a pedestrian-provision focus on walkability and an environmentally oriented focus consisting of nature and culture, supporting the notion that environmental elements are co-experienced through the embodied activity of walking. Thematic findings are supported by generalized additive models, grounded in a between-method triangulation attempt. The results confirm the interdependencies among the park’s environment, pedestrian satisfaction, and environmental consciousness. Specifically, the environment surrounding the park, which traverses natural and cultural elements, is strongly associated with both pedestrian satisfaction and environmental sensitivity. The research reifies walking as a fundamental human condition, encompassing labor, work, and action, while arguing for heuristic reciprocity between homo faber and nature, as well as framing walking as a sustainably meaningful urban intervention. This study contributes to maturing the theoretical understanding of walking as a vital human condition and suggests practical insights for pedestrian-centered spatial transformation. Full article

The increasing use of Global Positioning System (GPS) tools reshapes nature-based recreational practices. While previous research has examined the role of GPS technologies in outdoor recreation, limited attention has been given to the specific factors driving GPS use in nature-based settings such as natural parks. This case study examines the sociodemographic, behavioural, motivational and experiential factors influencing GPS use among visitors to the Capçaleres del Ter i del Freser Natural Park (Catalonia, Spain). A structured visitor survey (n = 999) was conducted over a one-year period and a hierarchical binary logistic regression model was applied to evaluate the explanatory contribution of four sequential variable blocks. The results showed that the behavioural factors (i.e., physical activity intensity) emerged as the strongest predictor of GPS use. Additionally, the final model demonstrated that visitors who were younger, engaged in higher-intensity physical activities, motivated by health-related goals, undertook longer routes, and reported more positive experiences were significantly more likely to use GPS tools during their visit. These findings highlight the need to adapt communication strategies to diverse visitor profiles and leverage volunteered geographic information (VGI) for improved visitor monitoring, flow management, and adaptive conservation planning. Full article

Several studies in the literature have emphasized that public open spaces, such as recreational parks in residential neighborhoods, play a crucial role in enhancing social interaction among residents. As such, access to these parks is a key factor that may influence their use and, in turn, affect the quality of social engagement within the community. Traditional approaches to park accessibility, which focus solely on physical distance, have notable limitations, as proximity alone does not reliably predict park usage. Therefore, physical accessibility should be complemented by assessments of perceived or psychological accessibility. This study is designed to propose a framework for enhancing social interaction through improved access to recreational parks in the residential neighborhoods of the Dammam Metropolitan Area (DMA). It employs a mixed-methods approach comprising two primary methodologies: (1) observational behavioral mapping to identify key influencing factors based on user activities within the selected case study areas, and (2) an end-user questionnaire survey analyzed through inferential statistics, specifically Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), to assess residents’ perceptions of park accessibility and social interaction. The results indicate that adequate park maintenance significantly improves physical accessibility, while elements such as safety are essential for fostering psychological comfort. The ANOVA results yielded an F-value of 4.72 and a p-value of 0.00, confirming a statistically significant effect of the park’s physical features on facilitating social contact among local residents. The study presents a framework that integrates key demographic and social factors influencing park usage, advocating for infrastructure improvements aligned with user perceptions to foster greater community engagement. It highlights that addressing psychological barriers is just as important as making physical enhancements to achieve effective park accessibility. By combining physical design, demographic insights, and user experiences, the framework serves as a practical guide for planning inclusive and socially responsive public spaces. This research contributes to the fields of urban planning, social sustainability, and environmental psychology by offering localized insights and practical tools for implementation. Future research is recommended to further refine urban strategies that promote equitable access to recreational parks, particularly by addressing demographic-specific needs and psychological barriers that influence social interaction in open spaces. Full article

Urban green spaces play a critical role in promoting health, well-being and social inclusion. However, many such spaces remain underutilized by women due to perceived safety risks and inadequate infrastructure. The aim of this study is to understand the level of accessibility of these areas for women of different ages, considering their diverse needs related to physical activity and the sense of safety in public space. This research investigates the behavioural experiences of women in Zielona Góra, Poland, focusing on municipal parks and forests. A mixed-methods approach was applied, including on-site observations, in-depth interviews, online surveys and scenario modelling using Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs), involving 204 women aged 15–85. The results show that 48% of respondents avoid green areas due to barriers such as poor lighting, fear of wild animals or unpredictable individuals and insufficient infrastructure. Women preferred afternoon visits and valued the presence of others for increased safety. The five most frequented parks were identified based on accessibility and infrastructure quality. Scenario simulations confirmed that even single targeted interventions could improve perceived safety and increase usage. This study highlights the need for inclusive urban design that addresses the specific experiences and requirements of women in public green spaces. Full article

Challenge, adventure, and risky play have repeatedly been found to be learning environments that positively shape childhood well-being and development. Extant evidence-based research conveys the physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional growth associated with risky play provision. However, understanding the interplay of risky play, injury, and safety is more nuanced and complex. The goal of this paper is to introduce a tool which allows educators, parents, health practitioners, urban planners, playground designers, certifiers, manufacturers, and inspectors to estimate both the benefit and risk of outdoor play and learning settings, such as playgrounds, adventure parks, or risk-taking activities. One of the key challenges associated with societal risk appetite or risk tolerance has been the inability to quantify the inherent benefits of risk taking in playgrounds and educational settings. Historically, the assessment of ‘benefit–risk’ has been dominated by a zero tolerance of incidents, whether in the workplace or road safety settings. Against this backdrop, if playgrounds and outdoor learning settings are boring, children will go elsewhere to seek thrills and adventure, which may often be manifested in antisocial behaviour. In 2023, ‘benefit–risk’ was formally recognised in the area of sport and recreation by the International Organisation for Standardisation, when it published the ISO 4980:2023 benefit–risk assessment for sport and recreational facilities, activities, and equipment. ISO 4980:2023 is a departure from the traditional view of risk management, in that it presents a perspective of risk which is not limited to framing risk as negative, but rather balances the calculation of positive benefits as well as the risks associated with the activity. Correspondingly, hazardous situations which have zero benefit should be eliminated or mitigated. The tool introduced in this paper offers playground inspectors and educators the ability to measure and assess both the benefit and risk of outdoor playgrounds and educational settings where children play, learn, and flourish. Full article

Objective: Protein supplements (PSs) are widely consumed by professional and non-professional athletes, yet research on non-athletic PS users’ perceptions, motivations, and health risk awareness is limited. This study aimed to investigate non-professional athletes’ PS patterns of use, motivations, and safety. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a constructed questionnaire reporting on PS usage trends, exercise habits, and demographic factors. Adult respondents were recruited from gyms, athletic organizations, amusement parks, and playing fields. Results: We received 1100 responses, and 327 were PS users. From the total of PS users, there was a prevalence of PS use in males [(203 (62%)]; adults in the age group of 25–34 [136 (42%)], p < 0.001; and participants with a normal BMI (189, 58%), p < 0.001. Following high-intensity fitness exercise sessions and engagement with more than two types of physical activity were associated with more than doubled odds of PS consumption (p < 0.001). The main reasons for PS intake were for muscle mass increase (35%) and recovery (18%), and protein powder was the most popular PS (279; 64%). The main channels of information for PS use were Web/social media (50, 40%) and coaches (54, 43.2%), while one out of two [35 (49%); p = 0.008] of those engaged in more than two types of physical exercise declared that PSs are good for health. Conclusion: The findings highlight demographic, behavioral, and informational factors shaping PS consumption in non-professional athletes. Despite the perceived benefits, reliance on non-expert sources and unregulated products raises concerns about consumer awareness and safety, while educational initiatives to promote evidence-based supplementation practices are deemed crucial. Full article

In recent decades, extensive evidence has indicated that green spaces and physical activity (PA) are associated with mental health, while limited research has explored the combined effects of supervised PA in urban green spaces. To address the research gap, this study examines whether supervised PA within green spaces improves mental health among middle-aged adults (45–65 years) through a quasi-experimental longitudinal study developed as part of the “Moving Parks” project in Bologna, Italy. Using the Italian version of the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS), mental health was measured at pre- and post-assessment. A total of 340 participants (258 intervention, 82 control) were included in the study. The effects of intervention, group assignment, and their interaction on mental health scores were analysed using a two-way repeated measures ANOVA. No significant differences in mental health improvements were observed between the intervention group and control group. The results indicated significant main effects of time on total WEMWBS scores and several subscales such as optimism, usefulness, energy, and cheerfulness, but these changes were not significantly influenced by group assignment. The only significant group-by-time interaction was found in perceived usefulness. These findings do not provide conclusive support for the hypothesised benefits of the supervised PA intervention. Possible explanations include seasonal variation, baseline or ceiling effects, and the potential limitations of the WEMWBS in detecting short-term psychological changes. Future research should consider extending intervention duration, improving group comparability, and employing more sensitive assessment tools to better evaluate the mental health impact of green space–based PA programmes. Full article

With the growing awareness of public health, urban parks have increasingly become popular venues for physical activities due to their accessibility and pleasant landscapes, among which walking, jogging, and running dominate. This study innovatively integrates exercise trajectory data from the Strava platform and semantic segmentation technology to analyze the interaction mechanisms among park view elements, physical activities, and physiological responses, based on empirical data from three representative parks in Shanghai. This study includes the following: (1) acquiring hotspot exercise paths and physiological data (heart rate and speed) of walking, jogging, and running users through the open Strava platform; (2) conducting semantic segmentation on real-word photos of three case parks to extract 17 types of park elements; (3) applying Spearman’s correlation analysis to reveal the differential impacts of park elements on physiological responses under walking, jogging, and running behaviors, demonstrating that combinations of elements such as trees, water bodies, fences, and sky influence exercise performance; and (4) constructing scene modules for site attraction, training improvement, and restorative relaxation for walking, jogging, and running, and proposing phased landscape scene sequence strategies to provide quantitative guidance for health-oriented park planning and design. This study breaks through the limitations of traditional subjective evaluations by coupling objective physiological data with spatial elements, offering novel insights for optimizing the exercise functionality of urban green spaces. Full article

Urban parks are essential for enhancing public health and environmental sustainability, as they reduce urban heat, improve air quality, and provide spaces for physical activity. Inequalities in park allocation, however, lead to access discrepancies, disproportionately impacting populations already struggling socially. The spatial disparity between park supply and demand in Busan, South Korea, is examined in this study through a quantitative approach incorporating socio-economic indicators and GIS(Geographic Information System)-based analysis. First, we divided Busan into 100 m × 100 m grid cells and applied a modified Huff model, setting a kind of distance-decay exponent β, to estimate park supply against baseline demand (the planning standard of 6 m² per person), and overlaid a composite need index of six socio-economic indicators to pinpoint underserved areas. Our first stage grid-based arithmetic analysis revealed that 100 of Busan’s 205 communities are undersupplied. Given a composite need index of six socio-economic indicators, sixty-two cells remained imbalanced, and we finally identified the ten communities with the highest need for targeted park provision. The findings indicate that Busan’s park planning policies, aimed at enhancing per capita green space, do not adequately address localized disparities. Accordingly, as opposed to a uniform expansion plan, this study stresses the importance of prioritizing park provision according to community-specific needs. These results suggest that policymakers could enhance public health outcomes and advance social equity by considering socio-economic vulnerabilities when planning cities. Specifically, this research highlights the significance of including environmental justice in urban sustainability frameworks and gives actionable ideas for fair park allocation. Full article

Urban environments have incorporated sustainable development into their planning by designing more green spaces. Access to urban green space is the key to the progress of urban sustainability, not only environmentally and ecologically but also socially. Research on social sustainability in parks can be achieved through the inclusive design of park settings that encourage diverse social activities. However, previous research rarely considers how park settings can foster social sustainability for young people. Within this context, this paper employs a qualitative research approach to explore young people’s preferences and engagement with parks through art-based and visual methods to understand how they interact with parks in the context of social sustainability. The visual survey, comprising 32 park scene photos, was administered to 192 youth (ages 9–17) in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. These photos captured four park features: play areas and playgrounds; informal and open areas; formal spaces and pathways; and sports spaces. The findings show that young people like park environments with a balance of physical activity, socialisation, and connection to natural areas. Playgrounds were selected for their active play areas, and open spaces were selected for their social and leisure possibilities. Formal pathways, particularly those connected to natural areas, were selected for their quiet and socialising potential, and sports areas, especially those with equipment, were less preferred due to their solitary nature. The findings highlight the importance of designing parks that promote social sustainability through fostering inclusivity and social cohesion. Such insights inform urban planning policies for making public spaces to meet diverse social needs and support social interactions. Full article

Co-varying disturbance and environmental gradients can shape vegetation dynamics and increase the diversity of plant communities and their features. Pinyon–juniper woodlands are widespread in semi-arid climates of western North America, encompassing extensive environmental gradients, and a knowledge gap is how the diversity in features of these communities changes across co-varying gradients in fire history and soil. In pinyon–juniper communities spanning soil parent materials (basalt, limestone) and recent fire histories (0–4 prescribed fires or managed wildfires and 5–43 years since fire) in Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument (Arizona, USA), we examined variation at 25 sites in three categories of plant community features including fuels, tree structure, and understory vegetation. Based on ordinations, canonical correlation analysis, and permutation tests, plant community features varied primarily with the number of fires, soil coarseness and chemistry, and additionally with tree structure for understory vegetation. Fire and soil variables accounted for 33% of the variance in fuels and tree structure, and together with tree structure, 56% of the variance in understories. The cover of the non-native annual Bromus tectorum was higher where fires had occurred more recently. In turn, B. tectorum was positively associated with the percentage of dead trees and negatively associated with native forb species richness. Based on a dendroecological analysis of 127 Pinus monophylla and Juniperus osteosperma trees, only 18% of trees presently around our study sites originated before the 1870s (Euro-American settlement) and <2% originated before the 1820s. Increasing contemporary fire activity facilitated by the National Park Service since the 1980s corresponded with increasing tree mortality and open-structured stands, apparently more closely resembling pre-settlement conditions. Using physical geography, such as soil parent material, as a landscape template shows promise for (i) incorporating diversity in long-term community change serving as a baseline for vegetation management, (ii) customizing applying treatments to unique conditions on different soil types, and (iii) benchmarking monitoring metrics of vegetation management effectiveness to levels scaled to biophysical variation across the landscape. Full article