Urban Park Design Research Articles

Data-Driven Winter Landscape Design and Pleasant Factor Analysis of Elderly Friendly Parks in Severe Cold Cities in Northeast China under the Background of Artificial Intelligence

Urban parks not only combine the greening of the city with the natural landscape but also are places for people’s daily fitness, leisure, entertainment, and activities to meet their psychological needs. At present, the design of our country’s northeast severe cold city park is not perfect, which cannot fully highlight the regional characteristics and show the local winter natural landscape. Under the background of the lagging development of the northeast severe cold city park, we use artificial intelligence technology and data-driven algorithm to design a new northeast severe cold city elderly friendly park. The experimental results are as follows: (1) we analyze the development trend of population aging in our country. As the main demanders of urban parks, the elderly determined the research direction of the experiment, investigated the needs of different people for the park, and designed the function of the park according to the needs of the park. (2) On the basis of retaining the traditional garden design, show artificial intelligence technology in the design of urban parks and transforming the urban park design with intelligent construction can not only let tourists have better entertainment and exercise but also enable residents to better invest in the park surroundings. Intelligent park design can not only show the unique park landscape but also relieve the pressure of tourists.

The Social, Economic, and Ecological Drivers of Planning and Management of Urban River Parks

Urban rivers deliver a broad range of contributions of nature to human development. The exploitation of the riverine ecosystem services evolves with uncertainty. In addition to the current decreasing of ecosystem health and changing climate, the impact of societal development on the river system directly reduces the potential delivery of future ecosystem services. What are the drivers of the design of urban river parks and what upcoming challenges will need to be addressed? This paper presents the results of an ex-post-analysis and comparative analysis of planning orientations of two urban river parks, the Isar River in Munich (Germany) and the American River in Sacramento (U.S.). The contribution describes the evolution of the urban rivers based on planning strategy, identifies drivers of changes and discusses the upcoming challenges for urban river parks that need to be addressed in the short and long term. The contribution shows that urban river park designs occur in a larger context of human demographic, technological, and economic changes. The contribution does not intend to solve the very complex and urgent challenges the case study sites face but rather to highlight research needs to support adaptation strategies.

The Ecological Environment Art Design of Urban Wetland Park: Taking the Landscape Design of Muye Lake Park in Xinxiang City as an Example

As an important carrier of human production and life, the quality of the urban ecological environment has the most direct impact on the living conditions of the urban population. The prominence of urban problems has undoubtedly increased people’s desire and pursuit of natural ecology. As a complex with multiple functions and benefits, urban wetlands play a pivotal role in improving the ecological environment of the city. Therefore, this paper starts from the perspective of urban wetland parks and conducts in-depth research on the landscape design of this type of park, which is conducive to the improvement of park landscapes. From the perspective of expert cognition, the evaluation index system of landscape aesthetics of the wetland park around the city is established, the weight of each index is calculated, and then the AHP attribute hierarchy model method is used to construct the evaluation model. Combined with the expert scores of various indicators, we quantitatively evaluate the landscape aesthetics of three representative surrounding wetland parks and draw conclusions. Using the analytic hierarchy process comprehensive index method to calculate the landscape evaluation index layer data, the index score of wetland ecosystem is 84.51, the index layer of wetland landscape quality is 79.17, and the score of wetland aesthetic index layer is 76.97. Based on the analysis and evaluation results, it is concluded that the comprehensive evaluation score of Muye Lake Wetland Park in Xinxiang City is 81.62, which is excellent in the evaluation of water network urban wetland park landscape. The quality of wetland landscape can give full play to the ecological value of wetland and reflect the beauty of wetland.

Audio-Visual Preferences for the Exercise-Oriented Population in Urban Forest Parks in China

The purpose of this study is to explore the audio-visual preferences of exercisers in urban forest parks in China and to make practical suggestions for park landscape design. Taking Beigushan Forest Park in Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province as a case, based on field research and questionnaire survey, this study analyzed the audio-visual preference characteristics of exercisers in the park, revealed the correlation between audio-visual preference and exercisers’ behaviors and individual characteristics, and explored the influence of audio-visual preferences on exercise feelings by establishing a structural equation model. It was found that (1) the forest and its avenue landscape and birdsong are most preferred by exercisers; (2) the audio-visual preferences of people with different exercise forms differ, for example, people who slowly walk, run, and briskly walk have stronger preferences for natural soundscape and visual landscape, while people who use fitness equipment have stronger inclusiveness for human activity sound and prefer public facility-based landscapes. In addition, some individual characteristics such as exercise intensity and exercise frequency significantly affect exercisers’ audio-visual preferences; (3) visual landscape preferences have a greater direct impact on exercise feelings, with natural waterscape having the greatest direct impact, but overall soundscape preferences do not have a high degree of direct impact on exercise feelings, with natural sound still having a strong positive impact. These findings provide a more quantitative basis for the landscape design of urban forest parks from the perspective of exercise behavior.

Unraveling Visiting-Activity Patterns of Heterogeneous Communities for Urban-Park Planning and Design

Urban parks provide essential outdoor recreation space, especially for high-density cities. This study evaluated the park-visiting activity profiles of residents to inform the planning and design of community-relevant parks. The visiting and activity patterns of 465 Hong Kong adult residents were collected using a structured questionnaire. The correlations of visiting and activity patterns of the different socio-demographic groups were analyzed. Varying features of visiting and activity patterns were observed for different socio-demographic groups. Older patrons visited parks intensively for nature-enjoyment activities and had shorter travel if intended for social and physical-exercise activities. The middle-aged respondents with children mainly conducted family based recreation, visited parks more frequently, and traveled farther. The young adults reported lower patronage, but the visit frequency increased with the engagement level in outdoor and physical-exercise activities. The homemakers reported a high visit frequency and enthusiastic participation in social activities. They tended to visit more frequently and stay longer in parks for physical-exercise activities. Our study revealed the urban parks’ divergent patronage behavior and unique roles to disparate user groups. They furnished evidence to apply continually precision park planning, design, and promotion to achieve socially responsive and age-friendly parks.

Exploring preferences for biodiversity and wild parks in Chinese cities: A conjoint analysis study in Hangzhou

There has been a transformation of value orientation from an anthropocentric to eco-centric view in Chinese urban park design. Biodiversity enhancement has been increasingly seen as a prioritised park design aim by landscape designers. This promotes the rise of a novel park style with wild, less manicured appearance in cities, which shows strong contrasts to the traditional park style with ornamental, manicured characteristics. However, in this urban park transformation process, people’s opinion has been almost ignored. This research investigated the importance of biodiversity compared with other relevant urban park attributes (i.e., Facilities, Woodlands, Maintenance, and Seasonal views) identified from preliminary focus groups. The research further predicted preferences between wild and traditional urban parks. Conjoint analysis was used to address these questions. Five urban park attributes (i.e., Biodiversity, Facilities, Woodlands, Maintenance, and Seasonal views) were included in the conjoint questionnaire survey. The survey (N = 187) was conducted with the public and ecology/landscape professionals in Hangzhou, China. Results showed that for professionals, biodiversity was the most important attribute relative to others; for the public, both facilities and biodiversity were the most important attributes. Preferences for the two park styles varied between the two groups: professionals preferred wild parks, whereas the public preferred traditional parks. Yet, public preferences for wild parks were enhanced by improving maintenance levels and providing recreation facilities. The study concluded the appreciation of biodiversity among both the public and professionals. Differences in professional preferences for wild parks compared to the public should be considered when professionals design wild parks in the future.

Impact of Urban Park Design on Microclimate in Cold Regions using newly developped prediction method

• The temperature distribution in the park was analyzed in different periods. • The temperature distribution in park was correlated with various morphology parameters. • The vegetation coverage and the average building height are the key factors. • Environmental evaluation and prediction method was developed and verified. With the acceleration of urbanization, the urban heat island phenomenon has attracted increasing attention. Urban parks play an important role for urban heat island mitigation. However, few studies were focusing on the impact of urban parks design on the urban microclimate. This research is based on the largest comprehensive park in Xi'an - Xingqing Palace Park. Measurement points in 20 locations with different urban morphological characteristics were selected to obtain typical summer weather characters (air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and wind direction). The value of the urban morphology parameters within different radii from the measuring points are measured to establish the relationship between urban planning and urban meteorology, and construct the prediction model using correlation analyses and regression analyses. The results showing that green coverage rate is an important factor affecting the urban microclimate. Meanwhile, building density and mean building height are affecting microclimate changes during nights, with a wide radius around the buildings. This research established a practical and feasible urban planning evaluation method by analyzing and selecting the urban morphology parameters that affecting urban microclimate for providing insights for mitigating the urban heat island effects and improving the urban microclimate.

도시공원 설계공모 수상작을 통해 본 조경설계개념의 유형†

The purpose of this study is to present types of design concept based on the specificity of landscape design, and to derive a theoretical framework for the landscape design concepts by analyzing the design concepts appearing in urban park design competitions. Through literature review, five types of landscape design concepts were categorized into value and vision, analysis and interpretation, form and structure, program and element, and process and operation. Using this framework, the design concepts shown in 96 works submitted to 18 domestic and overseas urban park design competitions were analyzed. The results of the analysis are summarized as follows. First, due to the complexity of contemporary urban parks, design concepts are presented as mixtures of main concepts and secondary concepts in multiple layers. Second, it was identified that design concepts of ‘form and structure’ were used the most in urban park designs, followed by the ‘program and element’ concepts. The ‘value and vision’ and ‘analysis and interpretive’ concepts are introduced as third and fourth. Third, the reason that the ‘form and structure’ concept is widely used as main and secondary concepts is judged to be because the form of a space, which is the key result of the design, has an important influence on the identity of the design. Fourth, the reason that the ‘program and element’ concept type is widely introduced is that urban park design has a stronger planning aspect to produce programs during the design process, compared with other design fields where programs are usually given in advance. Lastly, it is difficult to see that the properties of the site solely affect the type of design concept, because a design concept is the result of a complex and creative process in which a designer subjectively interprets the objective characteristics of the site and project, and given design guidelines can affect the type of design concept.

Sustainable low-input urban park design based on some decision-making methods

Shortage of resources, mostly water, and lack of attention to Life Cycle Costs (LCC) have challenged urban landscape development and require methodological development for more sustainable urban landscape designs. In this research, decision-making methods, including Value Engineering (VE), Multi-criteria Decision Making (MCDM), and Risk Management (RM) techniques, which are essential tools for optimal use of resources, were integrated to optimize the design of a city park, especially towards economic sustainability. This research was carried out on a case study design in Mashhad, Iran, where open space was designed as a park space based on two methods. A conventional base plan was developed based on the general and standard principles of park design. In contrast, in a proposed Low-Input plan, the sustainable output indicators of economic, social, and environmental were applied to design a park with minimum cost inputs in the design and maintenance stages. The results showed that by using the VE and MCDM methods to choose sustainability indicators, the consumption of resources and maintenance costs used for the LCC decreased, while initial park construction costs were higher. The proposed Low-Input plan was expected to reduce costs by 62.7% compared to the conventional base plan. Therefore, VE can balance costs and improve design quality and be a valuable tool in the design and maintenance of urban parks.

Therapeutic plant landscape design of urban forest parks based on the Five Senses Theory: A case study of Stanley Park in Canada

As an important part of urban development, urban forest parks (UFPs) are critical community resources for supporting physical activity of people of all ages, and are also crucial for connecting people to nature, specifically for mental health benefits. During the COVID-19 pandemic, urban parks have experienced exponential increases in the volume of users as people have sought ways to enjoy green spaces and their benefits safely. As the park environment provides a pleasant, healthy and comfortable atmosphere for people of all ages, UFPs have a vital impact on human health, which has been recognized by more and more people all over the world. The five senses, seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting, are the most direct ways that humans perceive external information and assess experiences. Notably, Canada has a strong presence in and a long history of designing and conserving UFPs. Therefore, we used Stanley Park in Canada as a case study to analyze the therapeutic functions of and design methods for plant landscape in UFPs. We conducted an on-site survey of tourists to investigate their perception, level of satisfaction, possible inadequacies, and suggestions regarding potential therapeutic plants in Stanley Park. The results show that the high plant diversity in the park has created a functional therapeutic landscape that can be perceived by the five senses. The overall satisfaction level of visitors and their dependency on these therapeutic landscape components are high. The inadequacies are relatively simple vegetation structure and lack of wetland plants. The plant species in Stanley Park were categorized according to their sensory influences. Based on the survey results and the literature, we have provided feasible recommendations for the design and management of therapeutic landscapes in UFPs.

Variations in outdoor thermal comfort in an urban park in the hot-summer and cold-winter region of China

• Outdoor thermal comfort is evaluated in an urban park in a hot-summer and cold-winter region of China (Chengdu). • Machine learning techniques are applied to determine the (nonlinear) relationship between thermal sensation vote and meteorological factors. • The effect of landscape spaces on human thermal comfort varies across the season. • NTR of PET is 6.79 °C to 19.90 °C, and NTR of UTCI is 13.27 °C to 27.25 °C. TAR of PET is 2.8 °C to 21.9 °C, and TAR of UTCI is 8.1 °C to 28.3 °C. Global warming and rapid urbanization have exacerbated the urban heat island effect. Urban parks contribute to alleviating such an effect and achieving the “carbon emission peak before 2030” and “carbon neutrality before 2060” goals of China. Their popularity is considerably influenced by human thermal comfort. However, limited thermal comfort studies have been conducted in the hot-summer and cold-winter region of China. This study examines human thermal comfort in different landscapes of an urban park in Chengdu and determines the thermal benchmarks. A machine learning (random forest) analysis shows that human thermal sensation is affected by different meteorological factors in different seasons. In addition, the influences of landscape space on human thermal comfort have considerable differences in different seasons. Residents prefer strong solar radiation in winter but fast wind speed in summer. UTCI (universal thermal climate index) is better than PET (physiological equivalent temperature) for outdoor thermal comfort assessment in the study area. This study serves as a valuable baseline and technical reference, contributing to sustainable urban park design.

Исследование развития и строительства современных городских парков в Китае

The development directions and formation features of contemporary urban parks in China are investigated by reviewing the current news and information sources as well as scientific publications on the principles of contemporary urban park development in China. The study reveals main trends in the development of contemporary urban parks under the influence of the human factor. Thus, in recent years, city residents have increasingly favoured diversified urban ecological parks. Traditional urban ecological parks no longer correspond to contemporary ideas about the high quality of life, making diversification the only way to meet the needs of residents. In accordance with this trend, the design of contemporary urban ecological parks will develop towards diversification and humanization. Although the number of urban parks in mainland China increased significantly between 1980 and 2020, this number is still insufficient to maintain the necessary level of the physical activity of residents. The low number of parks per 10,000 residents, as compared to the US and Japan urban park systems, can lead to the problem of accessibility of public park services. Concerns about spatial inequality are also evident across provinces, city classes and individual cities. In accordance with the policy of prioritized urbanization, inequality is expected to grow unless preventive measures are taken.

Exploring Visitor Perceptions towards Urban Park Design and Levels of Enclosure: A Case Study from the UAE

Abstract As cities transition towards urbanization and sustainability, designing attractive green spaces and urban parks is an important issue to planners and urban designers. One factor believed to have some impact on a park’s attractiveness is level of enclosure. Despite the importance of such a factor in identifying types of park visitors and frequency of visits, a limited amount of research has attempted to statistically model impacts of level enclosure on a park’s attractiveness. To address this gap, this article explores impacts of multiple physical characteristics, including levels of enclosure, on park attractiveness and user behavior. Activities in two parks in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE) were studied using field observations, photography, interviews, and statistical analysis. Field observations were utilized to model people’s attitude while using parks. Logistic regression was employed to the field observations to investigate associations between different factors and park attractiveness. Results indicated levels of enclosure had a direct influence on park users. Gender, age, and ethnicity were also found statistically significant determinates of park visitor attitudes and park choice. Traces of territorial behaviors and social conflicts were also observed.

Which environmental features contribute to positive and negative perceptions of urban parks? A cross-cultural comparison using online reviews and Natural Language Processing methods

Assessing the perceptions of urban parks and understanding the relationships between environmental features and park perceptions are critical to the design and management of urban parks. However, it is challenging to quantify park perceptions at a large spatial-temporal scale. In addition, little is known about which environmental features contribute to different perceptions in cross-cultural comparison. This study collected 21462 and 28398 online reviews from 2015 to 2020 and applied Natural Language Processing (NLP) methods to understand how people perceive urban parks and which environmental features contribute to positive and negative park perceptions in Shanghai and Brussels. We quantified park perceptions through sentiment analysis and transformed unstructured high-frequency words into structured environmental feature clusters corresponding to positive and negative perceptions using the word2vec models and machine learning. In addition, we created Chinese-based and English-based environmental feature lexicons for standardized measurement of the perceived frequencies of different environmental features and their associations with park perceptions. The results of our sentiment analysis showed that urban parks were generally perceived positively in both cities. We also identified 15 environmental feature clusters that were related to positive and negative perceptions. Beta regression results showed that the perceived frequencies of water bodies and colorfulness could be used as positive predictors for park perceptions in Shanghai. In contrast, the perceived frequency of tranquility had a positive impact on park perceptions in Brussels. We found that the perceived frequency of crowdedness was also positively associated with park perceptions in Brussels, suggesting the potential use conflicts between different user groups in urban parks. This study can provide insights into park design and management from cross-cultural comparison through systematic identification and standardized assessment of landscape preferences using online reviews and NLP methods.

A cost-benefit analysis of applying urban agriculture in sustainable park design

There are ideas that urban agriculture could assist in creating sustainable cities. However, little information is available on its financial benefits. Integrating Value Engineering (VE), Risk Management (RM) and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) techniques in this research improved the design and economical aspects of a city park based on urban agricultural development. This research was carried out on a part of Chehelbazeh Park in Mashhad, Iran. The base plan was designed based on conventional park design approach, and the proposed agricultural plan was designed by applying urban agricultural approach. In this study, based on the cost-benefit value index, the index of the base conventional plan was 0.86, which is considered uneconomic, and that of the proposed agricultural plan was 4.08. According to the results of this study, using urban agriculture in city landscapes can have high profitability and low risks. In general, VE, RM, and MCDM techniques can be used collectively as valuable tools in the design and maintenance of urban parks to achieve sustainability while making efficient use of the budget. The methodology of this study provides a decision-making framework for urban landscapes and can help policymakers, urban planners, and researchers on planning or designing urban parks in other countries. Also, it makes it easier for urban landscape managers and decision-makers to understand the importance of using fruit trees, vegetables, and other productive plants in urban landscaping.

Analysis of Urban Park Landscape Planning and Design

Analysis of Urban Park Landscape Planning and Design

A study of walkability in Surabaya urban park utilizing the space syntax

The urban parks are open spaces that accommodate people to do various activities. One of the most popular activities is walking. Human experience essentially leads pedestrians to have specific spatial dimensions and configurations in a park. Space syntax exists as a tool to explore the characteristics of the spatial configuration and the influence of the visitors on their activities through their perceptions. Space syntax has been widely applied in urban and human movement studies, despite rarely applied within the scope of urban parks. This study aims to address the debate and offers a new technique in applying the space syntax method. This research employed quantitative methods in interpreting the concept of Walkability and evaluated the design of urban parks by spatial exploration. The result determined the scope of research within the park, the configurational relationships between spaces as well as the visual connection and continuity of the human line of sight. This principle was developed and illustrated based on the three urban parks in Surabaya.

Thermal environment analysis of landscape parameters of an urban park in summer - A case study in Suwon, Republic of Korea

Urban parks are becoming increasingly important for improving urban thermal environments. To investigate the thermal effects of landscape parameters of urban parks in summer, micrometeorological and human thermal sensation data were analyzed and compared. Data were collected at three fixed locations and twenty-four transient locations in Hyowon Park, Suwon, Republic of Korea. The chosen locations were surfaced with different materials and were exposed to different direct solar radiation by trees or artificial shading devices. It was found that human thermal sensations were influenced most by the mean radiant temperature. The physiological equivalent temperature was two levels lower in thermal perception in shaded locations than sunny ones. Therefore, the most effective method of reducing the mean radiant temperature and human thermal sensations in summer is to create large shaded spaces by building artificial shading devices such as pergolas and planting trees with a high crown density. Among the surface materials, cement bricks, grass-flagstones, and coconut mats created better human thermal environments than baked bricks, polyurethane, and granite. Based on these results, we provide a list of improvements that can be used to guide future policy and design of urban parks to improve the thermal environment of urban outdoor spaces.

Landscape design of Ciliwung Riverbank based on ecological aspect in Pejaten Timur Settlement Area, South Jakarta

Jakarta is a city that has a reasonably dense population and continues to grow every year. The rapid increase in the number of residents has caused a lack of harmony between the need of land for housing and existing land availability. This condition has led to a change in the function of riverbank in the area of settlements which happened in Pejaten Timur, South Jakarta. The existing settlements area on the riverbank caused environmental problems such as river width change and pollution. These conditions caused this area is often flooded every rainy season. Therefore, this research was conducted to design the Ciliwung Riverbank and restoring the function of its riverbank which was supposed to be a green open space. Green open space is designed in the form of an urban community park that can be used as a water catchment area, improving the ecological function of the riverbanks, and as a place to relax for the citizens around the site. The design of the park is carried out by the design process method, these design process included preparation, inventory, analysis, synthesis, and site design. In the analysis section, the writer determines the potential and site constraints, and then some appropriate site development plans can be produced. The applied concept is called “Eco-relaxing riverside park”, which is an urban park on the riverbank that is environmentally friendly and has the primary function of a place to relax for visitors. The result of the urban community park design is expected to increase the aesthetic and functional value of the Ciliwung Riverbank in Pejaten Timur, South Jakarta. The final result of this research is the site plan, overall perspective, spot perspective, visible section images, detailed drawings, and explanations of the images.

Engaging in social interaction: relationships between the accessibility of path structure and intensity of passive social interaction in urban parks

PurposeFunctioning as space connectors, path structures in urban parks may rarely present social interaction opportunities, although centralized activity spaces are available. This paper investigated the interrelationships between the visual and physical accessibility attributes of path structure and their impacts on passive social interaction intensity across urban parks in Kuala Lumpur.Design/methodology/approachThe concept of social interaction has been studied elsewhere in social cohesion, social affiliation and sense of communication. Still, it has not been studied in the context of urban park design. This study employed mixed methods using an adaptive and unique combination of qualitative and quantitative data collections to analyze urban parks with a bit of visual vegetation barrier. The experiential landscape method was applied to determine visual accessibility by interpreting experiential landscape maps. The space syntax method based on quantitative analysis is considered to measure physical accessibilities and vigorous activities along the designated paths by conducting integration analysis and gate observation. The data were crossed-analyzed using a Geographic Information System (GIS) classification technique, correlation analysis and Microsoft combo-charts to generate the relationship between patterns of activities and their accessibilities.FindingsThe results suggested that designated paths with higher accessibility attributes, impressively more elevated than other tracks, could influence the intensity of passive social interactions. The findings supported the understanding that activity nodes and active areas adjoining designated routes could make accessibility attribute areas more critical. These findings verify that visually enriching the spaces along the path structure toward activities is a pivotal contributor to urban planners and designers to enhance the paths’ local integration (LI) and visual accessibility to predict more passive eye contact among park visitors.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed interrelationship among variables in this study has limitations because of not considering other qualitative methods and techniques like cognitive maps and interview simultaneously. These techniques could discover why some paths generate more passive eye contact among park users (Mohammadi Tahroodi, 2018).Practical implicationsKuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 emphasizes Kuala Lumpur’s unique image as a tropical garden city via preserving and developing the iconic historical urban parks in the city center (CHKL, 2004, pp. 3–3). The latest Draft Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2040 has outlined the strategy to achieve a conducive, good-quality neighborhood that encourages social interaction. The findings could assist urban planners and designers better public parks by considering accessibility and permeability aspects of design. This research endorses the appropriateness of interrelationship between accessibility attributes of path structure and social interaction in urban design research, which local urban designers have not fully considered until now. Evaluating the visual convenience of designated paths and assessing LI of the axial lines constructing each designated route of urban parks during the primary stage could enable urban designers to estimate to what extent the paths are accessible and respond to passive social interaction. Then they could enrich with salient landmarks, views and activity nodes to make them attractive. The considerable number of designated paths connections, specifically while they shape the sides of activity nodes, could increase the connectivity and integration of spaces within the parks. These patterns of positioning the activity nodes make the designated routes more legible and provide ease of movement. As a result, it will give urban park users more information about the activities. Allowing people to use the paths will increase people’s presence and, subsequently, passive social interaction. One way is to locate accessible lands that provide social activities at direct visual access paths within urban parks for legibility.Social implicationsThe socially responsive urban design enhances the quality of life and provides life satisfaction, happiness and society’s overall health. Being in urban social parks in any passive and active situations has psychological benefits. It facilitates relief and rests from a stressful modern lifestyle that significantly impacts their mental health and well-being. The framework applied in this research integrates the social, spatial and physical aspects of parks design. With this regard, principles and indicators facilitate physically and socially attractive urban parks for Kuala Lumpur city center and applicable to similar contexts elsewhere.Originality/valueThe concept of social interaction has been studied elsewhere in social cohesion, social affiliation and sense of communication. Still, it has not been studied in the context of urban park design. This study employed mixed methods using an adaptive and unique combination of qualitative and quantitative data collections to analyze urban parks with a bit of visual vegetation barrier.