Motivations and expectations in the planned visits to commercial public space post pandemic: A Grounded Theory approach

While home-based digital leisure has developed rapidly, the need for out-of-home recreation is re-affirmed during the global pandemic. Commercial public space, one type of common leisure place, witnessed obvious recovery post-pandemic in China. To understand why people determine to go to commercial places for recreation when medical authorities advise self-isolation, we conducted an analysis of telephone interviews with 26 young people based on Grounded Theory to construct a theory centered on “altering daily experience,” with another four categories of condition, out-of-home recreation motives, commercial public space characteristics and constraints. Results indicate that the merits of commercial public space offer an easy choice to overcome constraints to alter daily experience, and to fulfill out-of-home recreation motives. Motives are generated from the living condition and external stimuli. The research reveals the necessity of out-of-home recreation and bolsters a renewed effort to support life in urban public space of quality and suitability.