Study On The Change Of Recreational Behavior Preference And Landscape Spatial Optimization In Urban Parks Under The Background Of The Post-epidemic Era

At the end of 2019,Corona Virus Disease 2019 epidemic broke out suddenly,which had a far-reaching impact on human health and public health security.At present,the epidemic situation in China has become increasingly stable,but seasonal reflux and human infection caused by imported transmission still occur occasionally.Driven by the COVID-19 pandemic,people have a greater demand for urban living environment related to public health.As an important part of urban green space,urban park has the characteristics of openness and nature,which is conducive to improving negative emotions and promoting physical activity.Moreover,urban parks are abundant and accessible,and they are the main places for residents to do outdoor activities,which have great value and potential in promoting residents’ physical and mental health recovery.Therefore,it is of great significance to study the change of recreational behavior preference in urban parks and understand the change of residents’ recreational demand under the background of the post-epidemic era to better improve the quality of healthy supportive environment and mitigate the negative impact of pandemic.In this study,questionnaires were used to collect the physical and mental health status of urban residents,their perception of urban parks and the characteristics of urban parks visited by them in Zhengzhou after the outbreak of the pandemic.Taking Zhengzhou City as an example,this study investigated the number of visits to urban parks,the spatial and temporal distribution of visitors in the parks and the characteristics of spatial environment by SOPARC(System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities)and EAPRS(Environmental Assessment of Public Recreation Spaces).Through the comparison and analysis of the data obtained,the change of recreational behavior preference of users in urban parks under the background of the post-epidemic era was explored.The results show that:(1)The outbreak of the pandemic had a great impact on the physical and mental health of urban residents in Zhengzhou,and more than half of the respondents showed increased willingness to visit urban parks after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.More than 90 percent of people believe that urban parks help eliminate stress,and the physical and mental health promotion of urban parks is recognized by most people.The results highlight the positive effects of urban parks on health.(2)In terms of visit characteristics,the frequency of urban residents visiting parks and the length of their stay in parks were significantly different from those before the pandemic.Some respondents chose to reduce the frequency of park visits and the length of their stay.There was no significant difference in the way they accompanied and traveled when visiting the park.(3)From the perspective of gender,the impact on park visitors of different genders was basically the same after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic,and the density of visitors decreased significantly on the whole.The density of visitors in different spaces in the morning and evening was no longer as significant as before the epidemic.From the perspective of age,the epidemic had a greater impact on the number of teenagers and adults than children and the elderly.The density of adults decreased significantly at noon and evening,mainly concentrated in square space,forest space and waterfront space,while the visits of teenagers increased in all spaces other than waterfront space.Different age groups had their own characteristics in the time of visiting the park,and these characteristics were basically maintained after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.Only the density characteristics of adults were affected after the pandemic,which was high in the evening and low in the morning.In general,teenagers and children visit relatively few urban comprehensive parks in Zhengzhou,and the utilization rate of some spaces in parks,especially lawn space and waterfront space,is low.(4)After the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic,the main types of activities in various spaces of urban parks did not change.Leisure activities and fitness activities were still the mainstream activities in the parks,but the specific ways of activities and preferences for environmental characteristic factors changed.Before the pandemic,the population density of sedentary leisure activities had a significant positive correlation with space openness and a significant negative correlation with space area,while after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic,the population density of such activities had a significant positive correlation with leaf area index,leisure facilities and hard pavement.The population density of cultural and art activities had a significant positive correlation with leisure facilities before the pandemic,and also had a significant positive correlation with the accessibility of space after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.The population density of entertainment activities had a strong positive correlation with the space area and leisure facilities before the pandemic,but had a significant positive correlation with the recreational facilities after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.Compared with before the pandemic,the density of people engaged in fitness activities increased the positive correlation with amusement facilities,open space and hard pavement.Because the number of people engaged in maintenance and management activities is small and evenly distributed in the park,there was no significant correlation with various environmental factors.Based on the analysis and discussion of the research results,this study put forward the optimization strategy of landscape space,and put forward specific suggestions for the optimal design and management of landscape space according to the recreational behavior preferences of users of different ages and different activities.Firstly,in the face of the uneven utilization of space in urban parks,the multi-function potential of space should be explored in the optimization of space,so as to avoid the mono-function of space.For example,for the lawn space with low utilization rate,reasonable layout segmentation and hard pavement should be combined to enhance its accessibility,so as to relieve the crowd gathering pressure in the high-density space after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.Secondly,we should promote the flexibility of facilities and improve the spatial resilience of urban parks.In the face of the changes in the pandemic and the diversified recreational preferences of different user groups,the adaptability and diversity of the space are brought into play through simple design in the form of combination and disassembly,which is conducive to flexible replacement and arrangement.It helps the space to produce multiple functions while controlling social distance,so as to meet the interaction needs of people and space.In addition,the health benefits of space environment should be improved to promote the recovery of users’ physical and mental health after the epidemic through the construction of rehabilitation landscape.Finally,the park should innovate its management and operation mode,promote the standardized,refined and digital development of park management,dynamically improve its management services,ensure the flexibility of park management and control after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic,strengthen space safety and health maintenance,and reduce the risk of epidemic transmission.At the same time,humanized services should be provided according to the recreational needs of users.To promote the organization and development of park activities,and promote the city parks to better play the health benefits.