Parks, Green Space, and Happiness: A Spatially Specific Sentiment Analysis Using Microblogs in Shanghai, China

Green spaces, particularly urban parks, provide essential environmental, aesthetic, and recreational benefits to human health, well-being, and happiness. However, traditional forms of investigating people’s perceptions of urban parks, such as questionnaires and interviews, are often time- and resour...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2023-01, Vol.15 (1), p.146
Main Authors: Lai, Siqi, Deal, Brian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustics
China
Happiness
Information processing
Microblogs
Open spaces
Parks
Parks & recreation areas
Questionnaires
Sentiment analysis
Smartphones
Social aspects
Social networks
Social research
Social science research
Sustainability
Urban areas
Urban planning
User behavior
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Summary:Green spaces, particularly urban parks, provide essential environmental, aesthetic, and recreational benefits to human health, well-being, and happiness. However, traditional forms of investigating people’s perceptions of urban parks, such as questionnaires and interviews, are often time- and resource-intensive and do not always yield results that are transferable across sites. In this study, spatially explicit geolocational information (Sina Weibo check-in data) was utilized to analyze expressions of happiness and well-being in urban parks in Shanghai, China. The results showed significant differences in reported happiness inside and outside urban parks in Shanghai over a 6-month period. Accessibility, naturalness factors, and the frequency of park visits were positively associated with happiness. There existed both commonalities and disparities in the results between residents and non-residents. These findings can provide decision makers and urban planners with a comprehensive and timely overview of urban park use so they can accurately identify park needs and improvements.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su15010146