Assessing mini-park installation priority for regreening planning in densely populated cities

Abstract

Mini-parks are becoming a popular mode of outdoor recreational space in densely populated cities. However, it is not easy to identify appropriate locations for mini-parks in high-density built environments, where there are many different factors and action mechanisms affecting their installation. In this study, we developed a tool to assess mini-park installation priority (TAMIP)1 that can be used to support regreening planning in densely populated cities. Using the central city of Yancheng, China as a case study, we built a demand–supply framework to classify and measure the factors affecting park demand intensity (PDI), on the demand side, and mini-park development suitability (MDS), on the supply side. We then used a geographic information system (GIS) to determine the points of correlation between them, thereby deriving the mini-park installation priority (MIP) of each land unit. The results show that using TAMIP with multisource data significantly enhances the precision and breadth of information processing in planning projects. The tool will help decision-makers involved in park planning to efficiently install mini-parks in the areas where they will be most effective.