Benefits of Urban Parks in Different Land Uses ^†

Abstract

With continuous urbanization, cities are facing numerous challenges. In addition, the construction and effective management of urban green spaces have become essential for the sustainable development of healthy cities. In previous studies, algorithms were developed to select appropriate locations for parks with distinctive green patches. Although the suitability of urban parks has been discussed from various perspectives, the location and land use around parks have been rarely considered. Therefore, the benefits and importance of parks across various land uses were assessed in this study. Based on the assessment results, improvement strategies for future park planning and development were proposed. By highlighting and integrating the benefits of different parks, urban green spaces can be expanded to deliver diverse benefits and contribute to healthy and sustainable development. We compiled 35 items in four major types of park benefits from a literature review. Using the Delphi method, 24 important benefits of parks were identified. An importance–performance analysis (IPA) was then conducted to create matrix diagrams for parks in different land use zones to understand the key benefits and identify areas that require priority improvement. The IPA results indicated that parks in residential and industrial areas need to improve ecological benefits and environmental functions for sustainable development. Parks in districts have greening and visual appeal but need improvement in environmental education. There are excessive facilities for passive activities in parks, suggesting a need for resource optimization. The results of this study help urban planners find region-specific design solutions for different land uses and effectively manage and optimize resource allocation.

1. Introduction

Urban parks are essential in the sustainable development of urban environments as a key element in creating healthy cities. Urban green spaces encompass various dimensions, and effective park system planning can significantly enhance urban environments and improve quality of life. The importance of urban parks and green spaces reflects the long-term benefits of sustainable development and urban health.

However, many issues need to be addressed such as ineffective utilization, standardized designs, a lack of locality and educational value, and mismatched functions to meet the needs of nearby residents. These issues lead to low usage rates and negatively impact surrounding communities [1]. To overcome the challenges, it is necessary to rethink how innovative planning and design approaches must be used to construct parks that align with environmental conditions, meet residents’ needs, and promote sustainable urban health.

According to regulations, park locations in Taiwan are chosen based on population density and distance. However, these regulations do not take into account the different land use zones or established strategies for providing green spaces. Unsuitable locations hinder parks from fulfilling their intended functions [2]. Furthermore, the internal structures of urban parks influence their use depending on their locations [3]. These issues underscore the importance of benefits from appropriate land use. Therefore, a model was developed to estimate urban park’s benefits in different land use zones. By identifying the key benefits of parks in different zones, recommendations tailored to the functions and characteristics of each area can be made.

For interconnectivity between different zones, synergistic effects of parks are needed. Thus, parks need to be constructed to realize their benefits in diverse land uses. The model highlights the benefits of individual parks while collectively contributing to sustainability.

2. Literature Review

Park’s benefits and designs tailored to the land use zones must be defined in urban planning. We explored the benefits of urban parks in a literature review. Based on the results, urban park benefits were collected for designing a questionnaire and the model structure. Park’s benefits were categorized into environmental, social, industrial, and spiritual benefits.

2.1. Environmental Benefits

Urban parks and green spaces change the landscape through the different colors, textures, forms, and densities of plants, thus defining open spaces and beautifying buildings [4]. With the configuration of green spaces and vegetation, they improve the urban microclimate [5]. Green spaces in a park can improve air quality, regulate temperature, purify water, and reduce noise [6]. Green spaces prevent disaster by reducing air pollution, glare, and reflection; mitigating stormwater runoff; preventing flooding; and controlling soil erosion [4,5]. They alleviate the urban heat island effect and water pollution, and contribute to carbon sequestration [7], providing environmental protection benefits [8].

Regarding ecology and landscape, the Construction and Planning Agency suggested that the construction of green spaces reduces the intensity and area of developed land and maintains a natural appearance. Green spaces allow for water retention, soil conservation, and soil fertility; protect ecologically sensitive areas; improve biological habitats and foraging environments; and allow for ecological corridors. It also forms diverse water–land interface ecosystems [9]. The urban ecosystem can be regulated through the regeneration and reuse of land resources [10]. The survival of plant and animal communities in urban environments can be maintained [4], and by maintaining and developing urban spaces, natural environments with unique spatial qualities can be protected, and the environmental space of urban areas can be enhanced with improved visual perception.

Green spaces contribute to a higher quality living environment [11] and enable the coexistence of nature and humans in a healthy environment [12].

2.2. Social Benefits

Green corridors prevent urban sprawl and separate residential areas from city centers increasing recreational opportunities [13]. Green spaces created in parks allow for diversified lifestyles [14]. They allow for leisure and recreational activities to strengthen a sense of place and identity. The foundation for environmental aesthetics is provided by shaping environmental and cultural awareness and consensus and establishing the concept of an open living environment. Park’s green spaces serve as urban leisure areas and satisfy different usage needs such as contact with nature, thereby enhancing the quality of life [15]. Parent–child interaction [16] and connections between friends and family can be increased in green spaces [17]. Green spaces create beautiful environments and spaces for diverse activities. The trees and plants of parks bring a natural atmosphere to the urban environment, which allows residents to connect with and experience nature and promotes community interactions [18]. Therefore, a sense of place and identity can be increased.

2.3. Industrial Benefits

Well-planned green spaces in parks enhance urban image and competitiveness as an important facility to promote regional economic development [19]. They influence the surrounding cultural, historical, and economic cultures. Green spaces increase the surrounding real estate values and attract more tourists depending on the industrial characteristics of the surrounding area. Green spaces contribute to the development of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and animal husbandry, promoting local development [20]. By integrating green spaces with local cultures, consensus on the environment develops with local cultural characteristics and the cultural atmosphere of scenic locations can be preserved as memories. These cultivate environmental aesthetics, shaping a shared environmental and cultural understanding.

2.4. Spiritual Benefits

Green spaces provide places for environmental learning. Through opportunities to engage and observe the space, environmental knowledge is obtained, and recognition for environmental care increases. Behavioral skills, knowledge, personal potential, diverse interests, and activity skills can be enhanced, too [21]. Green spaces allow for various types of activities and let people participate in different activities. Through these activities, people can gain a sense of achievement, satisfaction, and self-affirmation while also experiencing physical, mental, and spiritual revitalization and stress relief [22]. Such activities promote psychological regulation. Beyond relieving stress, they facilitate physiological rest, reducing fatigue, enhancing mental relaxation, and restoring energy. Chen pointed out that such activities help individuals psychologically affirm themselves and achieve a sense of accomplishment, self-satisfaction, and realization, while also reducing tension and providing opportunities to appreciate creativity [18].

Green space in parks positively impact physical and mental health. Increased exposure to natural environments helps to reduce stress, prevent diseases, promote positive emotions, restore attention, and improve psychological well-being [23].

A total of 35 benefits of parks were categorized into environmental, social, industrial, and spiritual types (

Table 1. Benefits of parks and their green spaces.

Types	Factors
Environmental Benefits (A)	1	Provide a healthy environment and public hygiene for urban residents.
	2	Reduce negative environmental interference.
	3	Regulate microclimate and reduce heat island effect.
	4	Purify air, water, soil, and pollution.
	5	Prevent and avoid disasters.
	6	Maintain the balance of the urban ecosystem.
	7	Protect natural ecology.
	8	Provide ecological corridors.
	9	Maintain biological and habitat diversity.
	10	Preserve special space and natural environment resources.
	11	Enhance the spatial aesthetics of the urban living environment.
	12	Reduce the sense of congestion among buildings.
	13	Soften the coldness of urban space.
Social Benefits (B)	1	Provide static activities.
	2	Provide dynamic activities.
	3	Provide space for assemblies and diversified activities.
	4	Enhance opportunities for contact and interaction with nature.
	5	Enhance community participation and cohesion.
	6	Expanding social circles and interpersonal interactions.
	7	Strengthen the sense of place, belonging, and identity.
Industrial Benefits (C)	1	Enable people to understand the cultural and historical values of the Green Belt.
	2	Promote arts and cultural activities.
	3	Shape environmental and cultural consensus.
	4	Promote balanced regional development.
	5	Enhance the property value of neighboring areas.
	6	Promote the development of neighboring industries.
	7	Enhance production efficiency.
Spiritual Benefits (D)	1	Provide environmental learning places.
	2	Cultivate correct environmental knowledge.
	3	Stimulate potential through the environment.
	4	Cultivate the foundation of environmental aesthetics.
	5	Promote physical health.
	6	Promote mental health.
	7	Regulate the mind.
	8	Gain special experience.

).

3. Research Method

The benefits from the literature review were validated via a first-phase expert questionnaire. The result was used to finalize the formal questionnaire. The formal questionnaire was distributed to park planners to assess the importance and performance of the benefits in different locations of parks. A park benefit system tailored to different land use zones in urban planning was constructed based on the result.

3.1. Delphi Method

The purpose of the first-phase questionnaire was to validate the benefits of parks. The experts consisted of professionals from urban planning, public engineering, landscape gardening, architectural design, and leisure and recreation. A seven-point Likert scale was used—from “very unimportant”, to “very important”,—where scores ranged from one to seven.

The questionnaire was created to evaluate the retention of benefits on an interquartile scale. Interquartile range and standard deviation greater than 1 indicate divergent opinions among experts, showing low consistency. Conversely, a mean score higher than the 75th percentile signifies consensus on that item, while a lower mean score indicates a lack of strong consensus [24]. Items with low consensus (low score) were excluded. The determined benefits were reflected in the final questionnaire.

3.2. Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA)

IPA is used to optimize the multifunctional demands of urban parks to provide updated recommendations and prioritization [25]. It is also used to analyze differences between parks [26] and explore how to balance user needs with environmental sustainability, thereby improving park management [27]. We used IPA to explore the differences in parks across various land use zones. By identifying the benefits that require attention and improvement, recommendations were made for park planning. The recommendations can be used to develop park functions and cater to the requirements of different land uses. IPA was used to evaluate the significance and performance of the functions and benefits of parks from environmental, social, and spiritual perspectives.

• Evaluation: The evaluation items were selected based on the results of the expert questionnaire survey. Environmental, social, and psychological benefits were asked about in 24 items. On a Likert scale, the importance of park benefits was rated from “very unimportant”, to “very important”, assigned scores from 1 to 5.
• Study areas: Parks from the top three land use zones with higher proportions in Taiwan’s urban planning—residential, commercial, and industrial areas—were selected. The respondents rated the importance and performance of the benefits for each park type.
• Data collection: The experts evaluated the quality of the benefits from various perspectives. Through expert assessment, the perceived importance and performance of parks across different land use zones were determined.
• IPA matrix: The collected data were used to create an IPA matrix, where the X-axis represents the performance of park benefits and the Y-axis represents their importance. The matrix comprises four quadrants: (1) Quadrant 1 (High Importance, High Performance)—benefits that are deemed important and well-fulfilled, and must be maintained or enhanced. (2) Quadrant 2 (High Importance, Low Performance)—benefits that are important but underperforming, requiring improvement. (3) Quadrant 3 (Low Importance, Low Performance)—benefits that are neither important nor well-achieved, and the park needs to be adjusted or reduced. (4) Quadrant 4 (Low Importance, High Performance)—benefits with strong performance but lower importance; the park may not require significant resource allocation.
• Analyzing results and recommendations: Based on the matrix, analyses were conducted to provide recommendations for optimizing park benefits. For instance, emphasis might be placed on improving the benefits that are important but underperforming, or reallocating green spaces to enhance performance in specific areas.

IPA results help urban planners and managers better understand the multifunctionality of parks and their impact on residents. Targeted improvements and optimization strategies can be made to enhance the efficiency of parks as public resources, boost resident satisfaction, and maximize their environmental, social, and spiritual benefits.

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. Park Benefits

The quartile deviation (Q), standard deviation (SD), and mean (M) were used to determine whether to retain the benefit. Items with a quartile deviation greater than 1, a standard deviation greater than 1, and a mean lower than 75% (M = 5.25) were removed from the questionnaire. As a result, 11 benefits were deleted from the 35 benefits (

Table 2. Important performance data of parks in different land use zoning districts.

Factors	Residential Park		Commercial Park		Industrial Park
	I	P	I	P	I	P
A1	4.73	3.62	4.50	3.27	4.23	2.77
A3	4.69	3.23	4.81	3.23	4.73	2.92
A4	4.15	2.92	4.15	2.69	4.69	2.77
A5	4.27	3.00	3.95	2.92	4.46	2.88
A6	4.31	3.04	4.15	2.92	4.23	2.77
A7	4.20	2.65	3.80	2.81	4.27	2.85
A8	4.31	2.92	4.04	2.85	4.38	2.85
A9	4.08	2.69	3.70	2.69	4.19	2.77
A10	4.30	3.08	4.05	2.92	4.00	3.00
A11	4.70	3.50	4.81	3.42	4.08	3.12
A12	4.46	3.42	4.65	3.42	4.08	3.12
A13	4.31	3.50	4.60	3.50	4.12	3.08
B1	4.25	3.46	4.15	3.42	3.85	3.08
B2	4.30	3.73	4.05	3.27	3.75	3.12
B3	4.38	3.69	4.25	3.50	3.95	3.12
B4	4.31	3.35	4.25	3.15	4.00	3.00
B6	3.92	3.46	4.50	3.42	3.55	2.96
B7	4.10	3.08	4.05	3.15	3.50	2.81
D1	4.05	2.96	3.80	2.85	3.65	2.85
D2	4.10	2.81	3.80	2.81	3.85	2.69
D4	4.30	2.69	4.50	3.12	4.05	2.81
D5	4.10	3.50	4.10	3.23	4.20	2.96
D6	4.25	3.58	4.30	3.31	4.30	3.04
D7	4.38	3.69	4.54	3.38	4.30	3.12
Total Average	4.29	3.23	4.23	3.14	4.10	2.93

).

4.2. Importance and Performance of Parks in Different Land Uses

The importance (I) and performance (P) of parks in residential, commercial, and industrial zones were evaluated by 26 experts and scholars in urban park planning and design.

• In residential area parks, the top three important benefits were environmental, including “providing a healthy environment and public hygiene for urban residents” (A1), “enhancing the spatial aesthetics of the urban living environment” (A11), and “regulating microclimate, reducing the heat island effect” (A3). However, the highest performance was found in social and spiritual benefits, such as “providing dynamic activities” (B2), “providing space for assemblies and diversified activities” (B3), and “regulating the mind” (D7). The existing parks in residential areas allow for recreational activities and psychological stress relief. However, the environmental benefits are not yet fully realized. The experts focused on environmental quality to provide residents with a healthy, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing living space. Future park design and management must be made to implement environmental benefits and balance different types of benefits.
• In parks in commercial areas, the three important benefits were related to environmental benefits: “Enhancing the spatial aesthetics of the urban living environment” (A11), “Regulating microclimate, reducing the heat island effect” (A3), and “Reducing the sense of congestion between buildings”. (A12). Parks in commercial areas showed environmental aesthetics and spatial quality. However, the performance in “Regulating microclimate, reducing the heat island effect” (A3) was relatively low, suggesting room for improvement.
• In parks in industrial areas, the three important benefits were related to environmental benefits, including “regulating microclimate, reducing the heat island effect” (A3), “purifying air, water, soil, and pollution” (A4), and “prevent and avoid disasters” (A5). One spiritual benefit, “regulating the mind” (D7), suggested that the parks in industrial areas must provide psychological relief, spatial improvement, and visual beautification. However, there is room for improvement in environmental functions to mitigate the heat island effect and pollution. Enhancing ecological functions is necessary to address the environmental benefits of industrial area parks.

From the IPA matrix of the residential, commercial, and industrial zones, the key benefits in different land use zones were determined. The necessary functions need to be offered in each zone to allocate resources effectively. The empirical evidence for park management and land use planning was obtained from the analysis of which results contribute to the strategy development of different zones.

In residential areas, the basic need from parks is a healthy environment (A1) to enhance the aesthetic quality of living (A11) and offer dynamic, diverse, and nature-contact activity spaces (B2–B4). Ecological benefits such as the balance of the urban ecosystem (A6), ecological corridors (A8), and special spaces and natural environment resources (A10) are important but need improvement. Focus must be placed on enhancing these functions to maximize the environmental benefits of the green space, offering ecological services and improving the quality of life. Educational benefits (D1 and D2) were less important, suggesting that investments in these functions must be reduced or integrated with overrepresented items such as static activities (B1) and social interactions (B6) to improve their utilization (Figure 1).

Parks in the commercial area enhance the urban landscape (A11–A13) and provide mental benefits for business workspaces (D6 and D7). These functions must be maintained to align with the atmosphere and the needs of the people. However, cultivating the foundation for environmental aesthetics (D4) needs to be strengthened. Additionally, environmental benefits (A4–A10) are less important, indicating that resource allocation in future planning needs to be adjusted. Static and dynamic activities (B1 and B2) and the sense of place (B7) are overrepresented, so the spatial configuration of parks in the future commercial area needs to be improved for diverse activities and interaction between nature and people (Figure 2).

Mental benefits are important from physical and psychological aspects (D5–D7). Such parks benefit the local community and positively impact workers in the area. In contrast, satisfaction with environmental benefits (A1–A9) is low due to pollution control and ecology, and strict regulation (A3 and A4). These aspects must be strengthened to maximize the environmental benefits and promote sustainable development. Several mental benefits (B7 and D1–D4) are demanded less and need resource integration. Many social benefits (B1–B6) must be rearranged to improve the overall functionality and effectiveness (Figure 3).

5. Conclusions and Suggestions

The IPA results elucidated that parks in residential and industrial areas have environmental benefits, especially in maintaining the urban ecosystem and providing ecological corridors. In planning and management, parks need to provide ecological potential and values. The planning and management of parks need to be performed for sustainable urban ecological development. Visual impact and its psychological effect are important, meaning that urban parks significantly improve the visual experience and atmosphere. Parks make urban spaces pleasant and people relax and feel comfortable, reducing the negative impacts of urbanization. Providing environmental learning spaces and cultivating correct environmental knowledge are less important. Although these are not considered important benefits, they enhance the overall functionality of parks by increasing public awareness of environmental protection and sustainable development. Parks need to provide places for recreation and entertainment and foster environmental consciousness in environmental education for sustainable urban development. Static activities are overrepresented, which reflects a disconnect between the current resource allocation and actual demands. In park planning, it is necessary to reduce the space and facilities allocated for static activities.

The questionnaire and IPA method in this study can be used to understand citizens’ expectations and perceptions of parks in different land uses. Expert opinions are important in identifying differences and park planning for precise, comprehensive, and adaptive designs. The benefits identified in this study need to be sustained in various designs with diverse planning methods and implementation plans.