Factors affecting the use of urban green spaces for physical activities: Views of young urban residents in Beijing

Abstract

Urban green spaces hold great potential for promoting an active life style that allows urban residents to achieve important health benefits. The type of urban green space that is most effective to reach these goals is still unclear. In this study we used an online survey to investigate the ways in which young, urban residents in Beijing, China use urban green spaces for physical activities. We analyzed the factors that affect the residents’ satisfaction levels when participating in physical activities in urban green spaces by using ordinal logistic regression. Responses from the 1062 survey participants indicated that low-intensity activities (e.g., walking, sightseeing) were the most common activities. The living context, quality of vegetation, and accessibility of urban green spaces had a significant effect on residents’ satisfaction levels. For a compact city like Beijing, we recommended plans that focus on increasing the link among existing urban green spaces and improve the maintenance of residential green spaces in order to increase the use of urban green spaces for physical activities.