Benefits Of Urban Parks Research Articles

Mapping fine-scale carbon sequestration benefits and landscape spatial drivers of urban parks using high-resolution UAV data

Urban parks offer dual ecological benefits by increasing carbon sinks and reducing carbon emissions and are considered an important natural strategy for cities to achieve “double carbon” goals. However, rapid, efficient, and accurate quantification of the carbon sequestration benefits of urban parks poses a significant challenge. To address this, we utilized unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) multispectral data to construct large-area, high-resolution models of urban park carbon sequestration benefits, replacing traditional, time-consuming, and laborious large-scale field surveys. Additionally, we explored the relationship between urban park landscape patterns and the benefits of carbon sequestration. First, we used data from 12 tree species to calculate the carbon storage based on tree species and compared these results with those calculated based on forest type. Second, three prediction models were constructed using multispectral vegetation index only, texture features only, and a combination of both, in conjunction with gradient boosting decision Trees (GBDT), random forest (RF), and backpropagation (BP) neural network to generate carbon sequestration benefit maps for the entire park. These maps allowed us to determine how variations in urban park landscape structures affect carbon stocks. The results show that UAV multispectral imagery provides a fast and accurate method for measuring the carbon sequestration benefits of urban parks and offers an alternative method for generating carbon sequestration benefit maps. This research reveals the benefits of urban park carbon sequestration and explores the spatial patterns within landscapes. The findings are of great significance for guiding the estimation of urban carbon sequestration benefits and achieving carbon neutrality.

Quantifying urban park use in the USA at scale: empirical estimates of realised park usage using smartphone location data

A large body of evidence connects access to greenspace with substantial benefits to physical and mental health. In urban settings where access to greenspace can be limited, park access and use have been associated with higher levels of physical activity, improved physical health, and lower levels of markers of mental distress. Despite the potential health benefits of urban parks, little is known about how park usage varies across locations (between or within cities) or over time. We estimated park usage among urban residents (identified as residents of urban census tracts) in 498 US cities from 2019 to 2021 from aggregated and anonymised opted-in smartphone location history data. We used descriptive statistics to quantify differences in park usage over time, between cities, and across census tracts within cities, and used generalised linear models to estimate the associations between park usage and census tract level descriptors. In spring (March 1 to May 31) 2019, 18·9% of urban residents visited a park at least once per week, with average use higher in northwest and southwest USA, and lowest in the southeast. Park usage varied substantially both within and between cities; was unequally distributed across census tract-level markers of race, ethnicity, income, and social vulnerability; and was only moderately correlated with established markers of census tract greenspace. In spring 2019, a doubling of walking time to parks was associated with a 10·1% (95% CI 5·6-14·3) lower average weekly park usage, adjusting for city and social vulnerability index. The median decline in park usage from spring 2019 to spring 2020 was 38·0% (IQR 28·4-46·5), coincident with the onset of physical distancing policies across much of the country. We estimated that the COVID-19-related decline in park usage was more pronounced for those living further from a park and those living in areas of higher social vulnerability. These estimates provide novel insights into the patterns and correlates of park use and could enable new studies of the health benefits of urban greenspace. In addition, the availability of an empirical park usage metric that varies over time could be a useful tool for assessing the effectiveness of policies intended to increase such activities. Google.

Quantifying the cooling effect and benefits of urban parks: A case study of Hangzhou, China

Urban parks are increasingly recognized as effective nature-based solutions for mitigating urban heat in large cities. Although the cooling effect of parks has been thoroughly assessed, comprehensive studies on their cumulative cooling effects remain relatively sparse. Moreover, the benefits of this cooling effect have not yet been fully explored. To address this gap, we selected 220 parks in Hangzhou City to quantify their cooling effects and reveal driving factors. Additionally, we developed indicators for cooling exposure and carbon-saving potential to investigate the livelihood and ecological benefits arise from park cooling. We find that 84 % of these parks demonstrated a cooling effect, with a park cooling intensity, maximum and cumulative cooling intensity of 0.35 °C, 2.35 °C and 0.05 °C, respectively. Notably, there were distinct variations in cooling exposure across neighborhoods, with 57 % of them being less than 0.06 %. Furthermore, the carbon saving potential of all parks was approximately 1.13 × 104 t. In addition, our findings highlight the importance of park perimeter as a critical factor influencing park cooling effects. Overall, this study provides novel insights into the cooling effects and associated benefits of urban parks, highlighting their critical role in urban planning strategies to combat climate change and enhance urban livability.

Revealing disparities in different types of park visits based on cellphone signaling data in Guangzhou, China

Urban parks play a crucial role in promoting the urban ecological environment and the health and well-being of dwellers. However, existing research on park visits and drivers has largely ignored the classification of parks. Using the four-level park system in Guangzhou as a case, this study first measured park visits based on cellphone signaling data. Then, the independent and interactive influences of driving factors on the visits of four types of parks were investigated and compared comprehensively based on the geographical detector model. The factor detector model preliminarily distinguished the functional and role differences of various park types. Nature and urban parks are more functional, and community and pocket parks mainly provide nearby residents with convenient relaxation spaces. The interaction detector further revealed the disparities in park visit drivers between four types of parks. The most significant finding is that nearby recreational facility is the key to the use of natural and urban parks, while the determining factor for the visits of community and pocket parks is the surrounding population. Based on these findings, the study recommends tailored strategies for each type of park, to promote effective management and increased utilization. In particular, the study highlights the importance of understanding the differences between park types and developing customized strategies to maximize the benefits of urban parks and foster a healthy and sustainable urban environment.

A Qualitative Study on Leisure Benefits, Constraints, and Negotiations in Urban Parks Based on Perception of Chinese Older Adults

Urban parks, one of the most significant outdoor leisure areas, are particularly important for the physical and mental health of older adults. In order to investigate the benefits and constraints of leisure activities that older adults perceived in urban parks, as well as their negotiation mechanisms, this study was conducted using a qualitative method, interviewing 102 retired older adults aged 55 or older in Guangzhou, China, and using Rost CM 6.0 for word frequency analysis. The study findings indicated that due to the lack of age-friendly public leisure facilities in Guangzhou, Chinese older adults expressed multiple expectations regarding the benefits of urban parks, mainly in terms of physical, psychological, and social interaction, with physical benefits being their primary drivers. Leisure constraints can be intrapersonal, interpersonal, or structural. Older adults who visited parks and those who did not were affected by different levels of limitations, with the oldest people experiencing the most pronounced constraints. Older adults were able to access leisure opportunities through a variety of constraint negotiation strategies, including cognitive adaptability, spatiotemporal adaptation, interpersonal coordination, skill acquisition, and alternative leisure activities. The results of this study might assist related management departments in building more age-friendly parks based on the framework of the benefits and constraints of park recreation for older adults, in terms such as institutional design and planning to enhance the role of urban parks in healthy aging.

A Comparative Study of Urban Park Preferences in China and The Netherlands.

Urban parks play an important role in tackling several urban challenges such as air pollution, urban heat, physical inactivity, social isolation, and stress. In order to fully seize the benefits of urban parks, it is important that they are attractive for various groups of residents. While several studies have investigated residents’ preferences for urban park attributes, most of them have focused on a single geographical context. This study aimed to investigate differences in park preferences, specifically between Dutch and Chinese park users. We collected data in the Netherlands and China using an online stated choice experiment with videos of virtual parks. The data were analyzed with a random parameter mixed logit model to identify differences in preferences for park attributes between Chinese and Dutch citizens, controlling for personal characteristics. Although the results showed a general preference for parks with many trees, several differences were found between the Dutch and Chinese respondents. These differences concerned vegetation (composition of trees and flowers), the presence of benches and play facilities, and could probably be explained by differences in park use, values of nature, and landscape preferences. The findings of this study can be used as design guidelines by urban planners and landscape designers to design attractive and inclusive parks for different target groups.

Effects of urban parks on residents’ expressed happiness before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted human health worldwide. In these unprecedented times, the benefits of urban parks for residents have gained attention. However, few studies have explored the effects of urban parks on residents’ expressed happiness from the perspective of big data, and fewer have further deciphered the disparities between residents’ expressed happiness before and during the pandemic. In this study, we explored the effects of urban parks on residents’ happiness by including nine independent factors in baseline regression models, and chose 577 urban parks in Nanjing City, China, as study sites. Around 600,000 geotagged posts crawled on Sina Weibo (Chinese Twitter) were employed to obtain residents’ expressed happiness. The results demonstrated that residents with access to urban parks with higher normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI) values are likely to be happier; and subdistrict-scale urban parks have the highest positive association with residents’ expressed happiness. The presence of water, relatively dense populations, low land surface temperatures, and a low proportion of impervious land in the living environment were significantly associated with the higher expressed happiness of residents. The research period was divided into before and during the pandemic, and we identified that the positive association between NDVI of urban parks and residents’ expressed happiness increased by one-half during the pandemic period compared to the overall results (0.372 vs. 0.255), indicating that the COVID-19 pandemic awakened Chinese residents’ longing for high “green quality” urban parks. Our findings can provide guidance and recommendations for health-oriented urban park planning and design.

The effects of urban park on residents’ health: an empirical study based on Tangxi River Park in Hefei

As an important way for urban residents to access nature environment, urban park has a certain degree of impact on the health of the population. In this study, Tangxihe Park in Hefei City was used as the research site, and the impact of urban parks on population health was quantitatively studied by analyzing the demographic characteristics, physical and mental health of park users, and park satisfaction. The results show that the quality of overall environment, green space and activity facilities of the park have a positive effect on improving the physical and mental health of the residents, the time of residents spending in the park have a positive effect on their physical and mental health, the longer of the residents spending in the park, the higher of the health benefits they received. Physical health regression analysis showed that residents received better physical health benefits by using the park between 6am to 9am compared to those entering the park between 12pm to 14pm and 14pm to 18pm. Mental health regression analysis showed that residents entering the park between 14pm to 18pm received better mental health benefits than those entering the park between 6am to 9am. The research results verify the specific health effects of urban parks in the context of Chinese demographic and geographic background, and enrich the theoretical content on the health benefits of urban parks in different regional contexts.

Valuing recreational ecosystem services in developing cities: The case of urban parks in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Despite the growing body of evidence showing benefits and values of recreational ecosystem services, in sub-Saharan Africa, such evidence is extremely limited. This is problematic, and may perhaps explain their current poor condition. This study uses a random survey of households residing in Dar es Salaam to value the benefits of urban parks. The estimation is based on random utility framework where different models, with varying assumptions on preference and scale heterogeneity, are estimated. Our findings indicate that the marginal willingness to pay is highest for nature parks, followed by multi-use parks and neighbourhood parks. The willingness to pay for neighbourhood parks decreases as distance increases. Specifically, and depending on the assumptions, the marginal willingness to pay for nature parks ranges between US$0.40 - US$0.79 per month. Households are willing to pay US$0.27 - US$0.69 per month for multi-use parks. Under neighbourhood parks, this value is $0.10 - US$0.47. The policy implications for planning and management are i) the city authorities know the type of green infrastructure to invest in different locations in Dar es Salaam, and ii) there is potential to generate extra revenue from urban parks in developing countries.

Vegetation Management for Urban Park Visitors: A Mixed Methods Approach in Portland, Oregon

Urban park managers are tasked with maintaining ecological function and quality of parks while also meeting visitor preferences. The purpose of this study was to better understand how managers currently manage vegetation in parks of Portland, Oregon. Twenty-one urban park manager interviews were completed regarding 15 parks, which included natural-passive use, recreational-active use, and multi-use park types. Responses were coded for themes and patterns of meaning. Mixed methods were used to evaluate the urban park manager interview data in the context of visitor interview and plant community composition data collected at the same parks. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordinations were used to identify urban park manager and visitor perspectives correlated with different park types and their vegetation. Across park types, managers discussed maintenance as a favorite aspect of plant management, while ecosystem management was often described by managers of natural-passive use parks. Some managers indicated that they would make no changes to plant management, but the majority provided detailed recommendations such as enhancing maintenance, increasing staffing, adding plants, updating infrastructure, and improving plant species selection. There are opportunities to better meet the preferences of both managers and visitors by continuing to maintain large trees and trail/path vegetation for accessibility, removing invasive/harmful plants, and improving plant selection to include those that are heartier, more colorful, produce flowers, and are disease resistant, climate adapted, and provide habitat for a variety of species. While urban park managers discussed how they incorporated visitor preferences and accessibility in plant management, they also described limitations such as funding, staff resources, and undesirable visitor behaviors. Increased communication and collaboration among governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, and community members, as well as continued investment in park management and interdisciplinary mixed methods research have the potential to enhance the many ecological and social benefits of urban parks.

Does the Presence of Birdsongs Improve Perceived Levels of Mental Restoration from Park Use? Experiments on Parkways of Harbin Sun Island in China.

Green spaces in cities and urban parks serve as central areas for mental restoration and relieving pressure, and attention to soundscapes for their mental health benefits has become more prevalent. Birdsongs are perceived to enhance the restorative benefits of urban parks. This study examines Harbin Sun Island Park, the main bird habitat in the city of Harbin with numerous types of landscapes. We used space syntax to select the appropriate path space as a carrier and the pixel grid method to quantify path space shapes. A correlation analysis of field data was also used to explore the perceived restorative effects of birdsongs heard in urban parks using scales detailing the perceived restorative effects of various visual and auditory stimuli. The results show that soundscapes can significantly improve perceived recovery benefits, and that hearing birdsongs can significantly improve the perceived restorative benefits of wetland paths; the sky index of a tour path showed a significantly negative correlation with each feature (i.e., the four featured dimensions of “charm”, “escape”, “ductility” and “compatibility” included in the recovery scale), and the soft/hard ratio showed a significantly negative correlation with each studied feature. When the sky index ranged from 13–36%, tree coverage of the vertical coverage range was 30.28–38.6%, and when the soft/hard ratio ranged from 5–21, the perceived recovery benefit was strongest.

Vitality of Urban Parks and Its Influencing Factors from the Perspective of Recreational Service Supply, Demand, and Spatial Links

Urban parks provide multiple non-material benefits to human health and well-being; measuring these “intangible” benefits mainly co-produced by the spatial interactivity between dwellers and urban parks is vital for urban green space management. This paper introduced “vitality” to measure the intangible benefits of urban parks and constructed a straightforward and spatially explicit approach to assess the park vitality based on visiting intensity and recreational satisfaction rate. Freely available data of check-in comments on parks, points-of-interest (POIs), and other multi-source data from Beijing were used to assess the urban park vitality and explore the factors influencing it from the perspectives of recreational service supply, demand, and spatial linking characteristics. We found that the urban park vitalities decreased along the urban–rural gradient. The presence of water and facility density in the parks have significant positive impacts on park vitality, and high population density nearby was a positive factor. Moreover, the external higher levels of the POI-based urban function mix and density, as well as developed public transportation, were strongly associated with greater park vitality. Our research proposed a feasible and effective method to assess the park vitality, and the findings from this study have significant implications for optimizing the spatial configuration of urban parks.

Vegetation management for urban park visitors: a mixed methods approach in Portland, Oregon.

Urban park managers are tasked with maintaining ecological function and quality of parks while also meeting visitor preferences. The purpose of this study was to better understand how managers currently manage vegetation in parks of Portland, Oregon. Twenty‐one urban park manager interviews were completed regarding 15 parks, which included natural‐passive use, recreational‐active use, and multi‐use park types. Responses were coded for themes and patterns of meaning. Mixed methods were used to evaluate the urban park manager interview data in the context of visitor interview and plant community composition data collected at the same parks. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordinations were used to identify urban park manager and visitor perspectives correlated with different park types and their vegetation. Across park types, managers discussed maintenance as a favorite aspect of plant management, while ecosystem management was often described by managers of natural‐passive use parks. Some managers indicated that they would make no changes to plant management, but the majority provided detailed recommendations such as enhancing maintenance, increasing staffing, adding plants, updating infrastructure, and improving plant species selection. There are opportunities to better meet the preferences of both managers and visitors by continuing to maintain large trees and trail/path vegetation for accessibility, removing invasive/harmful plants, and improving plant selection to include those that are heartier, more colorful, produce flowers, and are disease resistant, climate adapted, and provide habitat for a variety of species. While urban park managers discussed how they incorporated visitor preferences and accessibility in plant management, they also described limitations such as funding, staff resources, and undesirable visitor behaviors. Increased communication and collaboration among governmental agencies, non‐profit organizations, and community members, as well as continued investment in park management and interdisciplinary mixed methods research have the potential to enhance the many ecological and social benefits of urban parks.

User Awareness for the Benefits of Urban Parks: Ankara City Case

In today’s world, people living in the city face difficulties in coping with stress, anxiety and fatigue. The individuals are in the need of being in touch with the nature and relieving stress and pressure in order to get away from these emotions. The parks which are one of the remedial opportunities for the individuals in their living places in terms of spiritual and physical aspects have a positive impact on the life quality of these individuals. In the contemporary societies, the existing open spaces and new designing spaces are regulated in accordance with the requirements of the age and the society given. In this regard, while urban parks, which are one of the important factors of urban landscape, are presented to the user service, it is significant to ensure balance the relationship between environment and human in order to increase the benefits obtained from these parks. The experts and institutions involved in the planning, design and management of such parks possess certain knowledge of these benefits. However, the level of knowledge and awareness of urban population or park users are not clear. In this study, in the case of Ankara city, it was researched how much the park users have knowledge of the economic, ecological, social and physical benefits of urban parks. One-on-one interviews with make a survey were conducted with 384 urban park users. According to the findings, 47.2% of the participants stated that they do not have general information about the benefits of urban parks, 31.8% of them that they had knowledge, and 20.8% said that they are not interested. The participants stated that urban parks were effective in cleaning the polluted air (37.5%), lowering the urban temperature (33.3%) and increasing the relative air humidity (31.3%). Based on these findings, suggestions were made to the researches, professional disciplines and public institutions.

Physiological and Psychological Effects of Viewing Urban Parks in Different Seasons in Adults.

Although the health benefits of urban parks have gained significant attention, the effects of viewing park landscape on older adult residents have not commanded much research. This study aimed to investigate the physiological and psychological effects of viewing cherry blossoms in spring and fresh greenery in early summer at urban parks. The experiments were conducted in two viewing spots in the same park in Japan during different seasons, and included 12 participants in both spring (mean age, 66.4 ± 10.5 years) and summer (mean age, 65.75 ± 10.1 years). Participants sat and viewed an urban park and city landscape for 11–15 min. Blood pressure was measured before and after the seated viewing while heart rate was measured continuously. Then, they evaluated the psychological responses using the Profile of Mood States and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Viewing cherry blossoms and fresh greenery in urban parks led to lower blood pressure in spring and early summer than viewing city areas in spring and early summer. Moreover, the score of vigor–activity was significantly higher; tension–anxiety was significantly lower in spring; and the state-anxiety level was significantly lower in early summer. The results of this study suggest that viewing urban parks results in physiological and psychological relaxation.

Stories, Shrines, and Symbols: Recognizing Psycho-Social-Spiritual Benefits of Urban Parks and Natural Areas

Urban parklands are biological and social resources. While there is a growing recognition that park users interact with these resources to promote well-being, the diversity of these practices and benefits is not fully appreciated. Here we draw upon data from a social assessment of 40 New York City (NYC) parks spanning 11,200 acres and we focus on psycho-social-spiritual benefits that are co-produced by park users and parks. Our methods include interviews (n = 1,680), field observations, and photo documentation. Given our large and diverse sample, the data show that psycho-social-spiritual engagement with parkland is important across geographic, sociocultural, religious, and other identities throughout NYC. While specific practices may be culturally differentiated, we find that urban parks support psycho-social-spiritual well-being for a wide range of people who engage in practices that reflect personal desires to connect with nature and a larger reality, as well as via a broader set of practices focused on connecting with self and with others. Our approach is novel because it integrates data on park users from interviews, observations of activities, and material evidence of prior use of parklands. We describe our findings and present a typology of psycho-social-spiritual engagement with natural areas in NYC parklands. This study advances theoretical understandings of the psycho-social-spiritual as it manifests within the dynamic relationship between humans and the urban environment, raises questions about the implications of these findings for the management of social-ecological systems, and suggests future research that delves into the practices of specific cultural and park user groups.

AUGMENTING URBAN PARKS IN BAHRAIN FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF CITIZENS’ HEALTH

Research over the past three decades has provided strong evidence of the positive impact of nature on the health of human beings. Contact with nature, whether that be with plants, animals, aesthetically pleasing landscapes or with the wilderness at large in all its forms, offers a range of medical benefits. Carlson er, al. [1] those benefits may include: lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, enhanced survival after heart attacks, more rapid recovery from surgery, fewer minor medical complaints, and lower selfreported stress. Although the Kingdom of Bahrain is a very small country, there are quite a few public parks in it: for example, Al Fateh Corniche , Arad Bay/Dohat Arad, Andalus Park, etc. In addition, strewn around residential areas, one finds many small neighborhood parks. This research suggests that the benefits of urban parks can be tapped into if the following criteria are fulfilled: First, policy makers and planners create the necessary awareness among citizens and residents of the positive impact on human health of contact with nature; second, recreational and cultural activities are conducted within those parks and green spaces; this will increase the interest of the population in frequenting them. Last but not least, parks in Bahrain need to be augmented to fit the needs of the specific country climatically as well as socially and culturally. Direct benefits can be reaped on the health of children and adults from walking and playing in parts, and indirect benefits can accrue on the health system from prevention of diseases through exercising, fresh air, and the sharing of recreational and cultural activities in those green spaces.

A comparison of perceived and geographic access to predict urban park use

Park use and accessibility have been the focus of research in many green space studies, but the psychological study of behavioural intentions to use urban parks has rarely been investigated. This study proposes and evaluates an expanded model of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) that incorporates the variables of perceived park accessibility, geographic proximity, and past use behaviour. The expanded TPB model was empirically tested using primary data collected from community level surveys (n=319) in Brisbane, Australia, from two suburbs with contrasting social economic status. We compared the explanatory and predictive quality of the expanded model for park use with the general model of TPB and a model operationalizing the theory of reasoned action (TRA). Results from structural equation modelling (SEM) indicate that the expanded model with perceived accessibility has the best model fit and highest explanatory power, while also enhancing prediction of park use intentions. Moreover, our results indicate that perceived access is more important than geographic access or proximity in predicting park use. These findings suggest that physical park provision is a necessary, but insufficient condition to encourage greater park utilization. Park management should account for differentiated preferences and perceptions of park access to increase the collective benefits of urban parks.

Future park: imagining tomorrow's urban parks

The first public parks were created on urban 'greenfields'. Once these designated sites had been used, cities looked towards post-industrial sites, and built parks in places that had suffered from environmental degradation, neglect, abandonment and conflict. With finite stocks of urban post-industrial land now also approaching exhaustion, more ways of making parks are required to create inclusive, accessible and resilient urban places. Future Park invites Australian built environment professionals and policymakers to consider the future of parks in our cities. Including spectacular images of public spaces throughout the world, the book describes the economic, social and environmental benefits of urban parks, and then outlines the threats and challenges facing cities and communities in an age when more than half the world's population are urban dwellers. Future Park introduces the need to embrace new public park thinking to ensure that benefits continue to be realised. Future Park illustrates imaginative and resourceful responses to real challenges by highlighting recent proposals and projects. These projects coalesce around four broad themes – linkages, obsolescences, co-locations and installations – responding to contemporary urban paradoxes, and ensuring parks continue to play a vital role in the lives of our cities.

Recreational experiences in parks and gardens, Ibadan, Nigeria

Purpose– The recreational benefits of urban parks and gardens have been documented in the literature. However, the extent to which the mechanism behind this is reliant on demographic variables and sites' quality, among others, is not clear. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of these variables on recreational experiences in Ibadan, Nigeria, towards recommending the best practices.Design/methodology/approach– A questionnaire was carried out with a random sample of users (n=232) of the three most prominent parks and gardens in the city. The content was grouped into three broad themes – the overall design of urban natural landscape, meeting people's needs, and the nature of space management. These three streams of parameters were investigated on a five-point Likert scale. The questionnaire was designed to elicit information on personal, physical and psychological issues.Findings– Based on the hypotheses that recreational experiences do not depend on the variables, results indicate no correlation between recreational experience and age, education, marital status, income and schedule of visits. However, there are positive significant correlations with gender, sites' quality, company and frequency of visit.Practical implications– The results of the study suggest policy indication that planning for parks and gardens in cities should consider gender, sites' quality, company and frequency of visit variables further beyond age, education, marital status, income and schedule of visits.Originality/value– The study was carried out in May 2011, and it has capacity to guide planning for urban eco-recreation places in developing nations.