Correlation between sustainability perception and recreational well-being in urban parks: A case study of Beijing olympic forest Park, China

In the context of global sustainable development, the sustainable construction of urban parks has attracted much attention. The developing countries represented by China have insufficient experience in park construction. The park is mainly for sightseeing and lacks the methods of sustainable park construction. At present, studies on the sustainability of urban parks are mostly carried out from the perspectives of index evaluation and expert evaluation, and few are considered from the perspective of citizens' use. There are also few studies that establish correlation between sustainability and well-being for unified analysis. This study investigates the correlation between the sustainability of urban parks and recreational well-being from the citizens’ perspective, based on which a correlation model was constructed. Suggestions for the planning, design, construction, and management of sustainable urban parks (to improve recreational well-being) are provided. The Beijing Olympic Forest Park in China was investigated as a case study, and 444 valid questionnaires were used in a structural equation model analysis for empirical tests. The results show that: (1) The sustainability perception of urban parks can significantly positively affect the recreational well-being of citizens (2) The intensity of the impacts of park sustainability assessment factors on recreational well-being was as follows: sense of place > leisure and health > economic perception > green construction and nature conservation > education value > natural environment > infrastructure. The construction of parks should not only improve the ecological environment, but also consider green construction, nature protection, and the functions of space and facilities, which can increase surrounding business opportunities. Moreover, stakeholders should consider the protection and shaping of the sense of place so as to build people’s emotional connection to urban parks.