Urban park visiting habits and leisure activities of residents in Hong Kong, China

Abstract

This paper examines urban park visiting behaviour of Hong Kong residents. It uses the findings from a telephone survey conducted in 2005, in which 758 Hong Kong residents were successfully interviewed. The survey found that there were slightly more infrequent park users than frequent park users (FPUs) in Hong Kong. About 8% of the respondents said that they never visit urban parks. Of the 43% of FPUs, many of them were either elderly or adolescents. The survey revealed that many users visited parks near their homes and stayed there for a short time. The most appealing activities for park users were doing exercise and taking leisure walks. The dominant barrier that deterred people from going to parks was lack of time to go. Obviously, this is a reflection of the lifestyle of Hong Kong people, in which working long hours are the norm. The findings contributed to a better understanding of the present park-visiting habits of Hong Kong people and indicated that the park authority needs to review its current park planning, design, and management policies to better meet the needs of users. Moreover, in response to the challenges caused by the declining birth rates and the upsurge of the ageing population in recent years, Hong Kong needs to map out a comprehensive strategy to develop urban parks that can cater to the leisure needs of its citizens.

Citizen attitude and expectation towards greenspace provision in compact urban milieu

“…Also, the elderly, new immigrants and economically deprived individuals living in public housing estates were often indifferent to opinion surveys. An unusually low response rate (17.5%) was recorded in a recent local telephone survey concerning urban parks (Wong, 2009).…”

Encouraging the use of urban green space: The mediating role of attitude, perceived usefulness and perceived behavioural control

“…Lo, Yiu, & Lo, 2003;Wang et al, 2015;Wong, 2009) (See Appendix A). The questionnaire contained items for the nine variables shown in Fig.…”

“…Lo et al, 2003;Wong, 2009; Van Herzele & Wiedemann, 2003 FAC2 Urban green spaces provide sufficient ancillary facilities. (e.g., drinking, washroom) FAC3 Urban green spaces provide sufficient catering services.…”

“…This result is consistent with that in the study by Holman, Donovan, and Corti (1996), who found that perceived proximity and accessibility (i.e., major roads) influence the frequency of using UGS. Although the construct of accessibility may be conceptually similar to the idea of remote access in Wong (2009), accessibility should include hours of operation and the corresponding price, as well as locational convenience (Wan & Shen, 2015). As suggested by Van Herzele and Wiedemann (2003), prices and hours of operation are attributes that evaluate the attractiveness of UGS.…”

The Contributions of Urban Landscape to Urban Life

“…A survey conducted with 758 residents in Hong Kong by telephone interviews showed that parks are mostly used by older people, and the park users generally prefer walking and physical exercises. It was determined that they believe these activities contribute to their physical and psychological health (Wong, 2009). …”