Equity Study on Urban Park Accessibility Based on Improved 2SFCA Method in Zhengzhou, China

Abstract

The distribution of urban parks is closely related to the opportunities of daily use by residents as well as the performance of the park system. The question as to whether parks are distributed equitably within cities is therefore becoming the focus of attention. However, only a few studies have explored a comprehensive and systematic procedure for urban park accessibility analysis and equity evaluation. In this study, by applying an improved two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method and K-means cluster analysis, based on the application of multi-source data, we provide insights into an equity study on park accessibility at the neighborhood scale and urban ring scale in the central urban area of Zhengzhou. These results suggest that the spatial access to parks in Zhengzhou is generally unevenly distributed among neighborhoods, and both the mean and standard deviation of accessibility show an increase from the center to the periphery. The cluster analysis reveals a set of four types of neighborhoods, including a high-supply medium-demand medium-accessibility type (HMM), a low-supply medium-demand low-accessibility type (LML), a high-supply low-demand high-accessibility type (HLH), and a medium-supply high-demand low-accessibility type (MHL), each with different characteristics and causes. The spatial distribution of the accessibility types exhibits both similarities and differences between the urban rings. The findings of this study could serve as a tool for identifying areas in which parks are underserved and the ways in which they differ from other areas, which can guide urban planning to address specific inequities.