Urban Park Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Are Socially Vulnerable Communities Disproportionately Impacted?

Lincoln R Larson,S Scott Ogletree,Jae In Oh,Lauren E Mullenbach,Kathryn T Stevenson,Zhenzhen Zhang,Michelle Wells,Kangjae Jerry Lee,Matt Carusona,Jason N Bocarro,J Aaron Hipp,Jonathan Casper,Will Beam

doi:10.3389/frsc.2021.710243

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic altered human behavior around the world. To maintain mental and physical health during periods of lockdown and quarantine, people often engaged in outdoor, physically distanced activities such as visits to parks and greenspace. However, research tracking outdoor recreation patterns during the pandemic has yielded inconsistent results, and few studies have explored the impacts of COVID-19 on park use across diverse neighborhoods. We used a mixed methods approach to examine changes in park use patterns in cities across North Carolina, USA, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an emphasis on impacts in socially vulnerable communities (based on racial/ethnic composition and socioeconomic status). First, we surveyed a demographically representative sample of 611 urban residents during August 2020 to assess their use of outdoor park spaces before and during the pandemic. Second, we used cell phone location (i.e., geo-tracking) data to document changes in park visits within 605 socioeconomically diverse urban census tracts before (July 2019) and during (July 2020) the pandemic. Data from both methods revealed urban park use declined during the pandemic; 56% of survey respondents said they stopped or reduced park use, and geo-tracked park visits dropped by 15%. Park users also became more homogenous, with visits increasing the most for past park visitors and declining the most in socially vulnerable communities and among individuals who were BIPOC or lower-income. Our results raise concerns about urban park use during the COVID-19 pandemic and suggest pre-existing health disparities in socially vulnerable communities might be exacerbated by inequitable access and utilization of parks and greenspace.

Highlights

In early 2020, a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) rapidly spread across the world, creating a global pandemic that altered human behavior and negatively impacted humans’ physical health and mental health in unprecedented ways (Bao et al, 2020; Holmes et al, 2020)
When examining demographic factors associated with pre-COVID-19 park use, we found that higher income and education levels were positively associated with park use (Table 2)
We found that the number of parks in a census tract was negatively associated with park visit changes, such that more parks in a neighborhood resulted in a higher likelihood of park visits declining during COVID-19 (Table 5)

Summary

Introduction

In early 2020, a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) rapidly spread across the world, creating a global pandemic that altered human behavior and negatively impacted humans’ physical health and mental health in unprecedented ways (Bao et al, 2020; Holmes et al, 2020). Following the elimination of popular indoor recreation activities, many urban residents around the world elected to spend time in places that remained accessible despite COVID-19 restrictions, such as public parks and greenspaces (Kleinschroth and Kowarik, 2020). Urban residents are more likely to suffer health impacts from the pandemic (Rader et al, 2020; Hubbard et al, 2021), and parks offer some respite from COVID19 transmission risk and socially distanced life in cities (Johnson et al, 2021). With few alternatives available in cities around the world, park-based activities were one of the only options for urban residents hoping to sustain or enhance their health and well-being in early stages of the crisis (Ugolini et al, 2021)

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