2025/04/10 by Amber Van Puyvelde, Bénédicte Deforche, Jelle Van Cauwenberg +4 · 1 voice
Environmental Science · Social Sciences · #Land Use and Ecosystem Services #Urban Green Space and Health #Urban Transport and Accessibility
paper · doi:10.1016/j.cities.2025.105997
openalex publication_date 2025/04/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Studies investigating the longer-term effect of park renewal on park use with a follow-up period longer than two years are scarce and have not been conducted in Europe. This natural experiment study investigated the effect of an urban park renewal in Belgium on park use one and two years after the completion of the renovations. Renovations included park enlargement, improved accessibility, and the installation of picnic tables, benches, outdoor fitness equipment, a football/basketball cage, different playgrounds, and wide walking and cycling paths accessible to people in wheelchairs and mobility scooters. The number of park visitors and their characteristics were observed using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities in two urban public parks (i.e., intervention and control park) at pre-test, immediately after the renovation, and one and two years later. Intervention effects on the total number of park visitors, as well as intervention effects by sex and age group were assessed, and general(ized) linear (mixed) models were fitted to assess the effect of the renewal on the number of park visitors. Results indicate a strong and maintained increase in the total number of park visitors and in the number of visitors from both sexes and among all age groups. Extensive park renewal, including improvements in multiple park characteristics, resulted in beneficial longer-term effects on park visitation. • The strong increase in park visitors seen immediately after the park renewal was maintained two years later. • Positive effects of the park renewal on park use were maintained in both sexes and all age groups. • Additional efforts to attract older adults to the park were successful.