Change of urban park use before and during the COVID-19 pandemic determined by on-site observation: A comparative study in Zhengzhou, China

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, urban residents have had additional public health-related needs for their living environments. In this context, urban parks are particularly crucial for the health of residents. However, there is a lack of in-depth assessment about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected urban park use in terms of spatial preferences of visitors with different attributes (i.e., gender, age) and visitor behavior. This study conducted on-site observation in Zhengzhou, China, to explore the change in urban park space use and residents' environmental preferences by investigating the visitation and behavior of different visitor groups in five types of park spaces before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results highlighted that: (1) The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a decrease in the overall number of park visitors compared to the non-pandemic period. However, there was a notable increase in the number of teenagers and the proportion of senior adults visiting the parks. (2) There was a marked increase in visitors to the lawn spaces, while pavilions and corridors emerged as the most appealing park areas among all demographic groups. (3) The COVID-19 pandemic did not change the main types of behavior in the park, but the specific ways and environmental preferences of various types of behavior have undergone adaptive changes. Based on the changes, we put forward several insights on future park design and management, which might help combine scientific mechanism research and park planning policy to improve urban park quality.