Impact of Urban Historical Parks on Physical Activity and Public Health in Beijing
Publication: Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 148, Issue 4
Abstract
It is believed that having urban parks that residents are keen to visit will promote walking and daily exercise, thereby impacting the general health of the population. We conducted studies on three historical parks in Beijing (the Summer Palace, Beihai Park, and the Temple of Heaven) with the aim of exploring the influence of urban historical parks on the physical activity and public health of local residents and to develop recommendations for the management and revitalization of urban historical parks. We investigated the physical activity of residents in the parks, the characteristics of the parks, and the general health of the public. We applied statistical methods for correlation analysis and found that, (1) in famous historical parks, the frequency of physical activity of residents is positively related to the time cost to travel to the park, quietness, attractiveness of the scenery, and ancient trees; (2) physical health is positively correlated with air quality and usual companion; (3) mental health is positively correlated with education, frequency of physical activity, space size, and aesthetic landscape; (4) the influence of historical parks on physical activity and public health can vary from park to park because of specific features; and (5) the impact of the typical characteristics of historical parks on promoting physical activities and health is not obvious, except in a quiet atmosphere, which causes a higher frequency of physical activity in historical parks. The most important functions of an urban historical park are to spread cultural connotations, create a cohesive society, and promote the conservation and revitalization of historical sites instead of merely a place to encourage physical activity.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors sincerely thank Qi Zhao, Na Li, Tan Yu, Susu Lan, Lu Cheng, Hesong Luan, and Haopeng Zhang of Beijing Forestry University for their help in the questionnaire collection process.
References
Ainsworth, B. E., et al. 2000. “Compendium of physical activities: An update of activity codes and MET intensities.” Med. Sci. Sports Exercise 32 (9): S498–S516. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005768-200009001-00009.
Akpinar, A. 2016. “How is quality of urban green spaces associated with physical activity and health?” Urban For. Urban Greening 16: 76–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2016.01.011.
Baran, P. K., W. R. Smith, R. C. Moore, M. F. Floyd, J. N. Bocarro, N. G. Cosco, and T. M. Danninger. 2014. “Park use among youth and adults: Examination of individual, social, and urban form factors.” Environ. Behav. 46 (6): 768–800. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916512470134.
Bedimo-Rung, A. L., A. J. Mowen, and D. A. Cohen. 2005. “The significance of parks to physical activity and public health: A conceptual model.” Am. J. Prev. Med. 28 (2 Supplement 2): 159–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2004.10.024.
Bize, R., J. A. Johnson, and R. C. Plotnikoff. 2007. “Physical activity level and health-related quality of life in the general adult population: A systematic review.” Prev. Med. 45 (6): 401–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2007.07.017.
BMSB (Beijing Municipal Statistics Bureau). 2011. Beijing statistical yearbook. [In Chinese.] Beijing: China Statistics Press.
Cohen, D. A., A. Sehgal, S. Williamson, R. Sturm, T. L. McKenzie, R. Lara, and N. Lurie. 2006. Park use and physical activity in a sample of public parks in the city of Los Angeles. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
Ćwik, A., I. Kasprzyk, T. Wójcik, K. Borycka, and P. Cariñanos. 2018. “Attractiveness of urban parks for visitors versus their potential allergenic hazard: A case study in Rzeszów, Poland.” Urban For. Urban Greening 35: 221–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2018.09.009.
Evenson, K. R., A. S. Birnbaum, A. L. Bedimo-Rung, J. F. Sallis, C. C. Voorhees, K. Ring, and J. P. Elder. 2006. “Girls’ perception of physical environmental factors and transportation: Reliability and association with physical activity and active transport to school.” Int. J. Behav. Nutr. Phys. Act. 3 (1): 28. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-3-28.
Guo, S., G. Yang, T. Pei, T. Ma, C. Song, H. Shu, Y. Du, and C. Zhou. 2019. “Analysis of factors affecting urban park service area in Beijing: Perspectives from multi-source geographic data.” Landscape Urban Plann. 181: 103–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.09.016.
Hansmann, R., S. Hug, and K. Seeland. 2007. “Restoration and stress relief through physical activities in forests and parks.” Urban For. Urban Greening 6 (4): 213–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2007.08.004.
Maas, J., R. A. Verheij, P. P. Groenewegen, S. de Vries, and P. Spreeuwenberg. 2006. “Green space, urbanity, and health: How strong is the relation?” J. Epidemiol. Community Health 60 (7): 587–592. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2005.043125.
Mak, B. K. L., and C. Y. Jim. 2019. “Linking park users’ socio-demographic characteristics and visit-related preferences to improve urban parks.” Cities 92: 97–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.03.008.
McCormack, G. R., M. Rock, A. M. Toohey, and D. Hignell. 2010. “Characteristics of urban parks associated with park use and physical activity: A review of qualitative research.” Health Place 16 (4): 712–726. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2010.03.003.
Nocca, F. 2017. “The role of cultural heritage in sustainable development: Multidimensional indicators as decision-making tool.” Sustainability 9 (10): 1882. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101882.
Özgüner, H. 2011. “Cultural differences in attitudes towards urban parks and green spaces.” Landscape Res. 36 (5): 599–620. https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2011.560474.
Pham, T.-T.-H., D. Labbé, U. Lachapelle, and É. Pelletier. 2019. “Perception of park access and park use amongst youth in Hanoi: How cultural and local context matters.” Landscape Urban Plann. 189: 156–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.04.021.
Rydin, Y., et al. 2012. “Shaping cities for health: Complexity and the planning of urban environments in the 21st century.” Lancet 379 (9831): 2079–2108. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60435-8.
Sheskin, I. M. 1985. Survey research for geographers. Washington, DC: Association of American Geographers.
Sreetheran, M. 2017. “Exploring the urban park use, preference and behaviours among the residents of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.” Urban For. Urban Greening 25: 85–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.05.003.
Steele, L. S., C. S. Dewa, E. Lin, and K. L. K. Lee. 2007. “Education level, income level and mental health services use in Canada: Associations and policy implications.” Healthcare Policy 3 (1): 96–106. https://doi.org/10.12927/hcpol.2007.19177.
Sugiyama, T., J. Francis, N. J. Middleton, N. Owen, and B. Giles-Corti. 2010. “Associations between recreational walking and attractiveness, size, and proximity of neighborhood open spaces.” Am. J. Public Health 100 (9): 1752–1757. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.182006.
Sun, Y., and S. Zhao. 2018. “Spatiotemporal dynamics of urban expansion in 13 cities across the Jing-Jin-Ji Urban Agglomeration from 1978 to 2015.” Ecol. Indic. 87: 302–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.12.038.
Ulrich, R. S., and D. L. Addom. 1981. “Psychological and recreational benefits of a residential park.” J. Leisure Res. 13 (1): 43–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222216.1981.11969466.
UN (United Nations). 2016. Draft outcome document of the United Nations conference on housing and sustainable urban development (habitat III). New York: UN.
Wang, D., G. Brown, and Y. Liu. 2015. “The physical and non-physical factors that influence perceived access to urban parks.” Landscape Urban Plann. 133: 53–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.09.007.
Wendel, H. E. W., R. K. Zarger, and J. R. Mihelcic. 2012. “Accessibility and usability: Green space preferences, perceptions, and barriers in a rapidly urbanizing city in Latin America.” Landscape Urban Plann. 107 (3): 272–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2012.06.003.
Xie, J., X. Jia, G. He, C. Zhou, H. Yu, Y. Wu, C. P.-A. Bourque, H. Liu, and T. Zha. 2015. “Environmental control over seasonal variation in carbon fluxes of an urban temperate forest ecosystem.” Landscape Urban Plann. 142: 63–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.04.011.
Zhang, W., J. Yang, L. Ma, and C. Huang. 2015. “Factors affecting the use of urban green spaces for physical activities: Views of young urban residents in Beijing.” Urban For. Urban Greening 14 (4): 851–857. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2015.08.006.
Zhao, S., D. Zhou, C. Zhu, W. Qu, J. Zhao, Y. Sun, D. Huang, W. Wu, and S. Liu. 2015. “Rates and patterns of urban expansion in China’s 32 major cities over the past three decades.” Landscape Ecol. 30 (8): 1541–1559. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-015-0211-7.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 30, 2021
Accepted: Mar 1, 2022
Published online: Sep 7, 2022
Published in print: Dec 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Feb 7, 2023
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.