IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i20p10860-d657376.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Using Social Media Data to Evaluate Urban Parks Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Mihai Răzvan Niță

    (Centre for Environmental Research and Impact Studies, University of Bucharest, 010041 Bucharest, Romania
    Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, 010041 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Miruna Arsene

    (Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, 010041 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Giorgiana Barbu

    (Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, 010041 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Alina Gabriela Cus

    (Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, 010041 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Mihail Ene

    (Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, 010041 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Ramona Mihaela Serban

    (Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, 010041 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Constantin Marian Stama

    (Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, 010041 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Larissa Nicoleta Stoia

    (Centre for Environmental Research and Impact Studies, University of Bucharest, 010041 Bucharest, Romania)

Abstract

In the context of increasing urbanization and associated economic, social and environmental challenges, cities have increasingly acknowledged the importance of urban parks in delivering social, economic and environmental benefits to the population. The importance has been demonstrated also during the COVID-19 pandemic that generated lockdowns and reduced the capacity of urban inhabitants in accessing such benefits. The present study aims to determine how the presence in urban parks was reflected on social media during the pandemic period of 2020. We examined Instagram posts associated with a sample of eight urban parks in Bucharest, Romania and also the entire history of Google reviews between January and August 2020. The selection of parks was made according to their size, location in Bucharest, previous reported number of visitors and profile of attractiveness. Results revealed that the peak period of the COVID-19 pandemic and the first initiation of the lockdowns strongly affected the recreation and leisure activities that people performed almost daily in the parks of Bucharest. Reviews and comments of the population were not that focused on the pandemic even after the restrictions were lifted, but they evidenced the positive and negative aspects of each park. Our results can represent a useful instrument for local administrations in determining both the flow of visitors but also their perceptions towards the endowments, landscape and most important management of urban parks.

Suggested Citation

  • Mihai Răzvan Niță & Miruna Arsene & Giorgiana Barbu & Alina Gabriela Cus & Mihail Ene & Ramona Mihaela Serban & Constantin Marian Stama & Larissa Nicoleta Stoia, 2021. "Using Social Media Data to Evaluate Urban Parks Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-15, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:20:p:10860-:d:657376
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/20/10860/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/20/10860/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yiyong Chen & Tao Liu & Xiaohuan Xie & Barbara Goličnik Marušić, 2016. "What Attracts People to Visit Community Open Spaces? A Case Study of the Overseas Chinese Town Community in Shenzhen, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-17, June.
    2. Sugiyama, T. & Francis, J. & Middleton, N.J. & Owen, N. & Giles-CortI, B., 2010. "Associations between recreational walking and attractiveness, size, and proximity of neighborhood open spaces," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(9), pages 1752-1757.
    3. Samuelsson, Karl & Barthel, Stephan & Colding, Johan & Macassa, Gloria & Giusti, Matteo, 2020. "Urban nature as a source of resilience during social distancing amidst the coronavirus pandemic," OSF Preprints 3wx5a, Center for Open Science.
    4. Diana Andreea Onose & Ioan Cristian Iojă & Mihai Răzvan Niță & Gabriel Ovidiu Vânău & Ana Maria Popa, 2020. "Too Old for Recreation? How Friendly Are Urban Parks for Elderly People?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-14, January.
    5. Yoshimura, Nobuhiko & Hiura, Tsutom, 2017. "Demand and supply of cultural ecosystem services: Use of geotagged photos to map the aesthetic value of landscapes in Hokkaido," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 68-78.
    6. Yuta Uchiyama & Ryo Kohsaka, 2020. "Access and Use of Green Areas during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Green Infrastructure Management in the “New Normal”," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-9, November.
    7. Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo & Ayako Mukoyama & Sho Naganawa & Ippeita Dan & Syeda Fabeha Husain & Cyrus S. Ho & Roger Ho, 2021. "Hemodynamic Response to Three Types of Urban Spaces before and after Lockdown during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-12, June.
    8. Pritish Mondal & Ankita Sinharoy & Binu-John Sankoorikal & Roopa Siddaiah & Lauren Mazur & Gavin Graff, 2021. "The Influence of Sociodemographic Heterogeneity on the Perceptions of COVID-19: A Countrywide Survey Study in the USA," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-11, August.
    9. Vasile Gherheș & Mariana Cernicova-Buca & Marcela Alina Fărcașiu & Adina Palea, 2021. "Romanian Students’ Environment-Related Routines during COVID-19 Home Confinement: Water, Plastic, and Paper Consumption," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-24, August.
    10. Shuping Huang & Jinda Qi & Wei Li & Jianwen Dong & Cecil Konijnendijk van den Bosch, 2021. "The Contribution to Stress Recovery and Attention Restoration Potential of Exposure to Urban Green Spaces in Low-Density Residential Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-20, August.
    11. Kyriakos Riskos & Paraskevi (Evi) Dekoulou & Naoum Mylonas & George Tsourvakas, 2021. "Ecolabels and the Attitude–Behavior Relationship towards Green Product Purchase: A Multiple Mediation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-22, June.
    12. Philip Cooke, 2021. "After the Contagion. Ghost City Centres: Closed “Smart” or Open Greener?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-12, March.
    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. Marija Jevtic & Vlatka Matkovic & Milica Paut Kusturica & Catherine Bouland, 2022. "Build Healthier: Post-COVID-19 Urban Requirements for Healthy and Sustainable Living," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-21, July.
    2. Yunseon Choe & Jiyoon Lee & Gyehee Lee, 2022. "Exploring Values via the Innovative Application of Social Media with Parks Amid COVID-19: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Text and Images Using ATLAS.ti," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.

    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. LU, Yi & Zhao, Jianting & Wu, Xueying & Lo, Siu Ming, 2020. "Escaping to nature in pandemic: a natural experiment of COVID-19 in Asian cities," SocArXiv rq8sn, Center for Open Science.
    2. Yi-Ya Hsu & Zih-Hong Lin & Chong-En Li, 2023. "Realising the Sustainable Development Goal 11.7 in the post-pandemic era – A case study of Taiwan," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(1), pages 162-181, January.
    3. Mohammad Reza Khalilnezhad & Francesca Ugolini & Luciano Massetti, 2021. "Attitudes and Behaviors toward the Use of Public and Private Green Space during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-22, October.
    4. Diana Dushkova & Maria Ignatieva & Michael Hughes & Anastasia Konstantinova & Viacheslav Vasenev & Elvira Dovletyarova, 2021. "Human Dimensions of Urban Blue and Green Infrastructure during a Pandemic. Case Study of Moscow (Russia) and Perth (Australia)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-24, April.
    5. S. Brent Jackson & Kathryn T. Stevenson & Lincoln R. Larson & M. Nils Peterson & Erin Seekamp, 2021. "Outdoor Activity Participation Improves Adolescents’ Mental Health and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-18, March.
    6. Bruno Marques & Jacqueline McIntosh & Chitrakala Muthuveerappan & Krzysztof Herman, 2022. "The Importance of Outdoor Spaces during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Aotearoa—New Zealand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-17, June.
    7. Li-Pei Peng & Wei-Ming Wang, 2020. "Hybrid Decision-Making Evaluation for Future Scenarios of Cultural Ecosystem Services," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-20, August.
    8. Watanabe, Hajime & Maruyama, Takuya, 2024. "A Bayesian sample selection model with a binary outcome for handling residential self-selection in individual car ownership," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    9. Meryem Hayir-Kanat & Jürgen Breuste, 2019. "Which Natural Areas are Preferred for Recreation? An Investigation of the Most Popular Natural Resting Types for Istanbul," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-14, November.
    10. Xiaohu Zhang & Scott Melbourne & Chinmoy Sarkar & Alain Chiaradia & Chris Webster, 2020. "Effects of green space on walking: Does size, shape and density matter?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(16), pages 3402-3420, December.
    11. Diego Santos Vieira de Jesus & Daniel Kamlot & Veranise Jacubowski Correia Dubeux, 2020. "Innovation in the ‘New Normal’ Interactions, the Urban Space, and the Low Touch Economy: The Case of Rio de Janeiro in the Context of the COVID-19 pandemic," International Journal of Social Science Studies, Redfame publishing, vol. 8(5), pages 17-27, September.
    12. Abdullah Addas & Ahmad Maghrabi, 2021. "Social Evaluation of Public Open Space Services and Their Impact on Well-Being: A Micro-Scale Assessment from a Coastal University," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-19, April.
    13. Liwen Li & Klaus W. Lange, 2023. "Assessing the Relationship between Urban Blue-Green Infrastructure and Stress Resilience in Real Settings: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-28, June.
    14. Colette Cunningham-Myrie & Katherine P Theall & Novie Younger-Coleman & Lisa-Gaye Greene & Parris Lyew-Ayee & Rainford Wilks, 2021. "Associations of neighborhood physical and crime environments with obesity-related outcomes in Jamaica," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(4), pages 1-19, April.
    15. Francisco Núñez & Elías Albornoz & Mariella Gutiérrez & Antonio Zumelzu, 2022. "Socially Sustainable Accessibility to Goods and Services in the Metropolitan Area of Concepción, Chile, Post-COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-22, October.
    16. Christoph Lambio & Tillman Schmitz & Richard Elson & Jeffrey Butler & Alexandra Roth & Silke Feller & Nicolai Savaskan & Tobia Lakes, 2023. "Exploring the Spatial Relative Risk of COVID-19 in Berlin-Neukölln," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-22, May.
    17. Emad B. Dawwas & Karen Dyson, 2021. "COVID-19 Changed Human-Nature Interactions across Green Space Types: Evidence of Change in Multiple Types of Activities from the West Bank, Palestine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-21, December.
    18. Kaiser, Nina N. & Ghermandi, Andrea & Feld, Christian K. & Hershkovitz, Yaron & Palt, Martin & Stoll, Stefan, 2021. "Societal benefits of river restoration – Implications from social media analysis," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    19. Amer Habibullah & Nawaf Alhajaj & Ahmad Fallatah, 2022. "One-Kilometer Walking Limit during COVID-19: Evaluating Accessibility to Residential Public Open Spaces in a Major Saudi City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-16, October.
    20. Karolina Dudzic-Gyurkovich, 2023. "Study of Centrality Measures in the Network of Green Spaces in the City of Krakow," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-30, September.

    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:20:p:10860-:d:657376. 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.