IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i13p6720-d579676.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Visitor Capacity Considering Social Distancing in Urban Parks with Agent-Based Modeling

Author

Listed:
  • Zhi Yue

    (College of Landscape Architecture, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China)

  • Jon Bryan Burley

    (School of Planning, Design, and Construction, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48864, USA)

  • Zhouxiao Cui

    (College of Landscape Architecture, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China)

  • Houping Lei

    (College of Landscape Architecture, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China)

  • Jing Zhou

    (School of Planning, Design, and Construction, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48864, USA)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly influenced society in the past few years. Park accessibility and social distancing are considered important under the threat of a long-term epidemic. However, measures that can maintain park accessibility and diminish virus spreading synchronously have been seldom studied before, which may threaten public health in all major urban parks globally. This paper proposed a methodology based on an agent-based model to analyze capacities for parks by simulating park visitor behaviors when they all are social distancing. The model was derived from historical visitor data and realistic visitor behaviors in three park settings. Then, park capacities of varied contact conditions, different park policies, and layout adjustments were analyzed. First, congestions caused by social distancing without proper visitor control are found inside all parks. Second, 85 to 3972 square meters per person is predicted as a safe space in different parks. Third, the current results can be easily adjusted according to various concerns regarding infection distance and rate. Finally, it can be inferred that information provisions are more effective than space design adjustments and mandatory measures. The results can guide park managers and those who plan and design park settings. They are also helpful in improving knowledge of the mechanisms behind visitor behaviors. Moreover, these findings can be tested and verified in a variety of public spaces with many other contact-based illnesses.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhi Yue & Jon Bryan Burley & Zhouxiao Cui & Houping Lei & Jing Zhou, 2021. "Visitor Capacity Considering Social Distancing in Urban Parks with Agent-Based Modeling," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-24, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:13:p:6720-:d:579676
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/13/6720/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/13/6720/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Roman Švec & Stanislav Martinát & Kamil Pícha & Petr Klusáček & Jaroslav Knotek & Justin Calvin Schaefer & Monika Březinová & Josef Navrátil, 2021. "What drives visitors to tourist sites to choose “green” accommodation facilities?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(10), pages 15074-15099, October.
    2. Connell, Joanne & Page, Stephen J. & Meyer, Denny, 2015. "Visitor attractions and events: Responding to seasonality," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 283-298.
    3. Rashidi, Taha H. & Koo, Tay T.R., 2016. "An analysis on travel party composition and expenditure: a discrete-continuous model," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 48-64.
    4. Qian Jin & Hui Hu & Philip Kavan, 2016. "Factors Influencing Perceived Crowding of Tourists and Sustainable Tourism Destination Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-17, September.
    5. Gossling, Stefan & Hansson, Carina Borgstrom & Horstmeier, Oliver & Saggel, Stefan, 2002. "Ecological footprint analysis as a tool to assess tourism sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2-3), pages 199-211, December.
    6. Navratil, J. & Picha, K. & Buchecker, M. & Martinat, S. & Svec, R. & Brezinova, M. & Knotek, J., 2019. "Visitors’ preferences of renewable energy options in “green” hotels," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 1065-1077.
    7. Carolina Barros & Borja Moya-Gómez & Juan Carlos García-Palomares, 2019. "Identifying Temporal Patterns of Visitors to National Parks through Geotagged Photographs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-16, December.
    8. Tiantian Zhang & Zefeng Lian & Yannan Xu, 2020. "Combining GPS and space syntax analysis to improve understanding of visitor temporal–spatial behaviour: a case study of the Lion Grove in China," Landscape Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(4), pages 534-546, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sarina Dass & Daniel T. O’Brien & Alina Ristea, 2023. "Strategies and inequities in balancing recreation and COVID exposure when visiting green spaces," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(5), pages 1161-1177, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xuedong Liang & Canmian Liu & Zhi Li, 2017. "Measurement of Scenic Spots Sustainable Capacity Based on PCA-Entropy TOPSIS: A Case Study from 30 Provinces, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, December.
    2. Křištofová, Kristýna & Lehnert, Michal & Martinát, Stanislav & Tokar, Vladimír & Opravil, Zdeněk, 2022. "Adaptation to climate change in the eastern regions of the Czech Republic: An analysis of the measures proposed by local governments," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    3. Fabio Iraldo & Benedetta Nucci, 2016. "Proactive environmental management in hotels: What difference does it make?," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2), pages 81-106.
    4. Getz, Donald & Page, Stephen J., 2016. "Progress and prospects for event tourism research," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 593-631.
    5. Maria Serena Mancini & Mikel Evans & Katsunori Iha & Carla Danelutti & Alessandro Galli, 2018. "Assessing the Ecological Footprint of Ecotourism Packages: A Methodological Proposition," Resources, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-37, June.
    6. Natalia Porto & Matías Ciaschi, 2021. "Reformulating the tourism-extended environmental Kuznets curve: A quantile regression analysis under environmental legal conditions," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(5), pages 991-1014, August.
    7. Jarkko Saarinen, 2013. "Critical Sustainability: Setting the Limits to Growth and Responsibility in Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-17, December.
    8. Philip R. Walsh & Rachel Dodds & Julianna Priskin & Jonathon Day & Oxana Belozerova, 2021. "The Corporate Responsibility Paradox: A Multi-National Investigation of Business Traveller Attitudes and Their Sustainable Travel Behaviour," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-20, April.
    9. Martin Falk & Eva Hagsten, 2018. "Winter Weather Anomalies and Individual Destination Choice," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-14, July.
    10. Setiawan Priatmoko & Moaaz Kabil & Yitno Purwoko & Lóránt Dénes Dávid, 2021. "Rethinking Sustainable Community-Based Tourism: A Villager’s Point of View and Case Study in Pampang Village, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-15, March.
    11. Stanley Brunn, 2015. "Philatelic Boosterism: Tourism Stamps Of Small Island States," International Journal for Responsible Tourism, Fundatia Amfiteatru, vol. 4(2), pages 23-52, December.
    12. Koo, Tay T.R. & Hossein Rashidi, Taha & Park, Jin-Woo & Wu, Cheng-Lung & Tseng, Wen-Chun, 2017. "The effect of enhanced international air access on the demand for peripheral tourism destinations: Evidence from air itinerary choice behaviour of Korean visitors to Australia," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 116-129.
    13. Chih-Wen Yang & Cheng-Lung (Richard) Wu & Jin-Long Lu, 2021. "Exploring the interdependency and determinants of tourism participation, expenditure, and duration: An analysis of Taiwanese citizens traveling abroad," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(4), pages 649-669, June.
    14. Setiawan Priatmoko & Moaaz Kabil & Ali Akaak & Zoltán Lakner & Csaba Gyuricza & Lóránt Dénes Dávid, 2023. "Understanding the Complexity of Rural Tourism Business: Scholarly Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-21, January.
    15. Cristina Andolina & Geraldina Signa & Agostino Tomasello & Antonio Mazzola & Salvatrice Vizzini, 2021. "Environmental effects of tourism and its seasonality on Mediterranean islands: the contribution of the Interreg MED BLUEISLANDS project to build up an approach towards sustainable tourism," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 8601-8612, June.
    16. Moisés Simancas Cruz & María Pilar Peñarrubia Zaragoza, 2019. "Analysis of the Accommodation Density in Coastal Tourism Areas of Insular Destinations from the Perspective of Overtourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-19, May.
    17. Tanay Yıldırım & Tutku Ak & Zuhal Ölmez, 2008. "Assessment of the natural-cultural resources in Çanakkale for nature-based tourism," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 10(6), pages 871-881, December.
    18. Lei Tian & Fengzhi Sun & Zongbin Zhang & Shuxian Zhang, 2024. "Coupling coordination and driving mechanism of tourism industry, urbanization, and ecological environment: a case study of Shandong, China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 28367-28388, November.
    19. Becken, S. & Simmons, D., 2008. "Using the concept of yield to assess the sustainability of different tourist types," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 420-429, October.
    20. Guang Yang & Yan Han & Hao Gong & Tiantian Zhang, 2020. "Spatial-Temporal Response Patterns of Tourist Flow under Real-Time Tourist Flow Diversion Scheme," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-28, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:13:p:6720-:d:579676. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.