IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i12p6806-d576075.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“We Need such a Space”: Residents’ Motives for Visiting Urban Green Spaces during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Shixian Luo

    (Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Chiba 271-8510, Japan)

  • Jing Xie

    (College of Landscape Architecture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China)

  • Katsunori Furuya

    (Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Chiba 271-8510, Japan)

Abstract

Since the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia in 2019, several cities have been blocked to prevent the expansion of the infection. This qualitative study aimed to determine the motives of urban residents for visiting urban green spaces during the epidemic (especially within the context of the city blockade), and what might weaken these motives. In total, 47 residents (17 men and 30 women) were recruited from Chengdu, in China, to participate in interviews. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data. According to the results, the motives of the respondents were divided into strong motives and weak motives. These strong motives for visiting UGS can be divided into four themes: “A place for health”, “Escape”, “Social support”, and “A safe and important place for outdoor activities”. Residents classified as the weak motive primarily considered the reasons of “Keep distance with others”, “Potential infection risk” and “Seek compensation”. The results of this study are significant for current and future urban management, green space planning, and social well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Shixian Luo & Jing Xie & Katsunori Furuya, 2021. "“We Need such a Space”: Residents’ Motives for Visiting Urban Green Spaces during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-18, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:12:p:6806-:d:576075
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/12/6806/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/12/6806/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dai, Peichao & Zhang, Shaoliang & Hou, Huping & Yang, Yongjun & Liu, Run, 2019. "Valuing sports services in urban parks: A new model based on social network data," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Emi Moriuchi & Michael Basil, 2019. "The Sustainability of Ohanami Cherry Blossom Festivals as a Cultural Icon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-15, March.
    3. Japelj, Anže & Mavsar, Robert & Hodges, Donald & Kovač, Marko & Juvančič, Luka, 2016. "Latent preferences of residents regarding an urban forest recreation setting in Ljubljana, Slovenia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 71-79.
    4. Francis, Jacinta & Wood, Lisa J. & Knuiman, Matthew & Giles-Corti, Billie, 2012. "Quality or quantity? Exploring the relationship between Public Open Space attributes and mental health in Perth, Western Australia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(10), pages 1570-1577.
    5. Cai, Zhaoyang & Liu, Qing & Cao, Shixiong, 2020. "Real estate supports rapid development of China's urbanization," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    6. Locher, Julie L. & Ritchie, Christine S. & Roth, David L. & Baker, Patricia Sawyer & Bodner, Eric V. & Allman, Richard M., 2005. "Social isolation, support, and capital and nutritional risk in an older sample: ethnic and gender differences," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(4), pages 747-761, February.
    7. Lachowycz, Kate & Jones, Andy P., 2014. "Does walking explain associations between access to greenspace and lower mortality?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 9-17.
    8. Jing Xie & Shixian Luo & Katsunori Furuya & Dajiang Sun, 2020. "Urban Parks as Green Buffers During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-17, August.
    9. Abhik Chakraborty, 2020. "Emerging Patterns of Mountain Tourism in a Dynamic Landscape: Insights from Kamikochi Valley in Japan," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-19, March.
    10. Luigi Cirrincione & Fulvio Plescia & Caterina Ledda & Venerando Rapisarda & Daniela Martorana & Raluca Emilia Moldovan & Kelly Theodoridou & Emanuele Cannizzaro, 2020. "COVID-19 Pandemic: Prevention and Protection Measures to Be Adopted at the Workplace," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, April.
    11. McIntosh, Alison J., 2020. "The hidden side of travel: Epilepsy and tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    12. Lincoln R Larson & Viniece Jennings & Scott A Cloutier, 2016. "Public Parks and Wellbeing in Urban Areas of the United States," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(4), pages 1-19, April.
    13. Berkman, Lisa F. & Glass, Thomas & Brissette, Ian & Seeman, Teresa E., 2000. "From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 51(6), pages 843-857, September.
    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. Dimitrios Kalfas & Fotios Chatzitheodoridis & Efstratios Loizou & Katerina Melfou, 2022. "Willingness to Pay for Urban and Suburban Green," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-21, February.
    2. Alesandros Glaros & Geoff Luehr & Zhenzhong Si & Steffanie Scott, 2022. "Ecological Civilization in Practice: An Exploratory Study of Urban Agriculture in Four Chinese Cities," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-16, September.
    3. Odilia Renaningtyas Manifesty & Junga Lee, 2022. "A Spatial Adaptation Strategy for Safe Campus Open Spaces during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Korea University," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-15, July.
    4. Xiangting He & Tongguang Zang & Bingyu Sun & Konomi Ikebe, 2023. "Tourists’ Motives for Visiting Historic Conservation Areas in the Post-Pandemic Era: A Case Study of Kuanzhai Alley in Chengdu, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-16, February.
    5. Jiwon Kim & Youngjin Ko & Whijin Kim & Gaeun Kim & Jeongmin Lee & Olebogeng Thelma G. Eyman & Sarwat Chowdhury & Julie Adiwal & Yowhan Son & Woo-Kyun Lee, 2023. "Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Perception and Use of Urban Green Spaces in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-17, February.
    6. Anna Domaradzka & Mikołaj Biesaga & Ewa Domaradzka & Magdalena Kołodziejczyk, 2022. "The Civil City Framework for the Implementation of Nature-Based Smart Innovations: Right to a Healthy City Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-20, August.

    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. Alessandro Rigolon & Matthew H. E. M. Browning & Olivia McAnirlin & Hyunseo (Violet) Yoon, 2021. "Green Space and Health Equity: A Systematic Review on the Potential of Green Space to Reduce Health Disparities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-27, March.
    2. Tsai, Alexander C. & Bangsberg, David R. & Emenyonu, Nneka & Senkungu, Jude K. & Martin, Jeffrey N. & Weiser, Sheri D., 2011. "The social context of food insecurity among persons living with HIV/AIDS in rural Uganda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(12), pages 1717-1724.
    3. Matthew H. E. M. Browning & Alessandro Rigolon, 2018. "Do Income, Race and Ethnicity, and Sprawl Influence the Greenspace-Human Health Link in City-Level Analyses? Findings from 496 Cities in the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-22, July.
    4. Rosaria Lumino & Giancarlo Ragozini & Marijtje Duijn & Maria Prosperina Vitale, 2017. "A mixed-methods approach for analysing social support and social anchorage of single mothers’ personal networks," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 779-797, March.
    5. Zhang, Yingjie & Zhang, Tianzheng & Zeng, Yingxiang & Cheng, Baodong & Li, Hongxun, 2021. "Designating National Forest Cities in China: Does the policy improve the urban living environment?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    6. Fatma Lestari & Margaret Cook & Kelly Johnstone & Miranda Surya Wardhany & Robiana Modjo & Baiduri Widanarko & Devie Fitri Octaviani, 2022. "COVID-19 in the Workplace in Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-23, February.
    7. Jenny Gierveld & Pearl A. Dykstra & Niels Schenk, 2012. "Living arrangements, intergenerational support types and older adult loneliness in Eastern and Western Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 27(7), pages 167-200.
    8. Zhen Li & Wanmin Zhao & Miaoyao Nie, 2021. "Scale Characteristics and Optimization of Park Green Space in Megacities Based on the Fractal Measurement Model: A Case Study of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-18, July.
    9. Damiano Fiorillo & Giuseppe Lubrano Lavadera & Nunzia Nappo, 2020. "Individual Heterogeneity in the Association Between Social Participation and Self-rated Health: A Panel Study on BHPS," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 645-667, September.
    10. Hyerang Kim & Heesook Son, 2020. "A Moderated-Mediation Model of the Relationship between Dietary Satisfaction and Fatigue in Older Adults with Diabetes: The Role of Meal Planning and Depressive Symptoms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-14, November.
    11. Daniel Graeber, 2017. "Does More Education Protect against Mental Health Problems?," DIW Roundup: Politik im Fokus 113, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    12. Zihan Cai & Ming Lu, 2018. "Social Integration Measurement of Inhabitants in Historic Blocks: The Case of Harbin, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-19, August.
    13. Jiang, Wenhao & Stickley, Andrew & Ueda, Michiko, 2021. "Green space and suicide mortality in Japan: An ecological study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    14. Maria Pavlova & Rainer Silbereisen & Kamil Sijko, 2014. "Social Participation in Poland: Links to Emotional Well-Being and Risky Alcohol Consumption," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(1), pages 29-44, May.
    15. Liping Ye & Xinping Zhang, 2021. "The association mechanism between social network types and health‐related behaviours among the elderly in rural Hubei Province, China," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3), pages 826-846, May.
    16. Kanbur, Ravi & Fleurbaey, Marc & Viney, Brody, 2020. "Social Externalities and Economic Analysis," CEPR Discussion Papers 15179, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Morenike Oluwatoyin Folayan & Roberto Ariel Abeldaño Zuniga & Oliver C. Ezechi & Brandon Brown & Annie L. Nguyen & Nourhan M. Aly & Passent Ellakany & Ifeoma E. Idigbe & Abeedha Tu-Allah Khan & Folake, 2022. "Associations between Emotional Distress, Sleep Changes, Decreased Tooth Brushing Frequency, Self-Reported Oral Ulcers and SARS-Cov-2 Infection during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Global ," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-11, September.
    18. Corinna Trujillo Tanner & Jeremy Yorgason & Avalon White & Chresten Armstrong & Antonia Cash & Rebekah Case & Joshua R. Ehrlich, 2023. "Longitudinal Analysis of Social Isolation and Cognitive Functioning among Hispanic Older Adults with Sensory Impairments," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(15), pages 1-13, July.
    19. Francis, Jacinta & Wood, Lisa J. & Knuiman, Matthew & Giles-Corti, Billie, 2012. "Quality or quantity? Exploring the relationship between Public Open Space attributes and mental health in Perth, Western Australia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(10), pages 1570-1577.
    20. Miranda L. Ritterman & S. Leonard Syme, 2009. "The importance of community development for health and well-being," Community Development Innovation Review, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue 3, pages 001-013.

    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:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:12:p:6806-:d:576075. 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.