User-generated content may increase urban park use: Evidence from multisource social media data

Abstract

Given the numerous health benefits that urban parks and greenspaces provide, it is critical to grasp the key factors that improve park use. Despite the pervasive impact of user-generated content (UGC) in modern society, little is known about the influence of UGC on park use. Therefore, this study examined the effect of UGC on park use based on 613,858 pieces of UGC related to the 251 urban parks in two metropolitans in China, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. After controlling for the confounders, the hierarchical linear regression revealed that the quantity, rating, sentiment, and exposure were significantly associated with park use. Then, we distinguished three distinct relationships between UGC variables and park use. We proposed that the effects of UGC rating, sentiment, and exposure were more reliable predictors of park use because bidirectional associations may not affect them. Furthermore, we found the heterogeneity in the UGC-park use link by UGC and urban park types. The geotagged UGC had a larger effect size on park use than the keyword UGC. Visits to comprehensive parks were significantly affected by UGC, while visits to community parks were not. This study sheds new light on increasing park use from the perspective of digital information, which benefits future research and policy development in modern society.