Factors influencing perceived access to urban parks: A comparative study of Brisbane (Australia) and Zhongshan (China)

Previous research indicates that perceived access to urban parks is influenced by both physical and non-physical variables. However, research to date on park access has involved case studies conducted in Western countries that are not directly comparable to non-Western cases. The extent to which park access may be influenced by the larger social and cultural context of the urban setting is unknown. This study uses a comparative research design by applying the same multidimensional model of urban park access to community-level survey data collected in the cities of Brisbane (Australia) and Zhongshan (China). Our results indicate that lower income groups perceive significantly lower access to urban parks than higher income groups in both cities with Brisbane residents reporting greater overall park access compared to Zhongshan residents. The respondents from both cities reported preferences for sustainable transport modes (e.g., walking and cycling) to visit parks. The more frequently people visit a park by walking, the greater the self-reported park access. The results from both cities confirm that physical and locational features of parks (e.g., proximity and travel time) are the most important factors influencing perceived access. Our results indicate that both physical and socio-personal factors significantly contribute to self-reported park access in both urban contexts, supporting the hypothesis that the accessibility concept is a complex multi-dimensional construct that can be applied cross-culturally. We discuss the implications of our findings for park planning in urban areas.