User, Public, and Professional Perceptions of the Greenways in the Pearl River Delta, China

Abstract

The perception of greenways has been intensively investigated to understand the attitudes of stakeholders and to study the preferences of greenway users. In the Pearl River Delta, there has been a long-term debate on the form and function of greenways in campaign-style development, but few studies have focused on the public perception of greenways. Through both onsite and online investigations, this study obtained first-hand data about the user perceptions of greenways in selected case studies and developed an overall understanding of the public perception of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) greenways. Moreover, to examine the academic debate, we further distributed questionnaires to groups that had professional educational backgrounds related to greenway planning. The results showed that, in contrast with the academic debate, the user, public and professional perceptions were positive toward PRD greenways. Although it has been commonly recognized that bikeways compose the primary form of PRD greenways, the results suggested that the public has multiple needs for greenways, in which the primary demands are recreation and transportation. The investigation also identified many issues in greenway practices regarding the accessibility of greenway spaces, the coherence of nonmotorized routes, and the landscape characteristics of the greenways. Finally, this study suggests that more effort should be placed on the everyday demands of greenways, including accessible recreational resources and safe, comfortable, and coherent nonmotorized routes.

Factors Influencing Users’ Perceived Restoration While Using Treetop Trails: The Case of the Fu and Jinjishan Forest Trails, Fuzhou, China

“…The next section assessed treetop trails quality using a revised perceived quality of treetop trail scale comprising four dimensions perception of trail facilities (PTF), perception of elevated feeling (PEF), perceptions of trail landscape (PTL), perception of trail design (PTD), and twenty-three related indicators [ 61 ]. This scale was developed based on previous studies on greenways [ 62 , 63 ] and was modified by the present study according to the characteristics of treetop trails. The Cronbach’s α values (range from 0.88 to 0.98) in the present study indicated that the measurement was reliable.…”

Linking Cities to Rivers in Theory and Practice: The Case of Egyptian River Cities

“…As a result of expedient urbanization, it has joined between all-encompassing landscape planning and urban development, a complete discipline for sustainable development, that conserves heritage, and is concerned with social and economic issues [35], [36]. It has become a global movement, for enhancing urban environments [42,43]. It is affected by geographic, economic, cultural, and social aspects [44].…”

Evaluation of the Health Promotion Capabilities of Greenway Trails: A Case Study in Hangzhou, China

“…Many studies have used questionnaires, field observations, interviews, statistical analysis, and post-use evaluation (POE) to obtain feedback and suggestions from the perspective of users after a greenway has been put into use [32][33][34]. In addition to the accessibility of greenway trails [35], Roe et al found that people have different perceptions of urban green spaces that affect health because of the differences in their own health status, race, gender, and age [36].…”