Visitors’ Behaviors and Perceptions of Spatial Factors of Uncultivated Internet-Famous Sites in Urban Riverfront Public Spaces: Case Study in Changsha, China

Abstract

This article takes representative uncultivated riverfront internet-famous sites (uncultivated RIFSs) in Changsha city, China, as an example to explore the internal mechanism of their formation and finds that they are closely related to the “urban subculture” and the “informality of urban public space”. In terms of methodology, through questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews, this study investigates the behavioral characteristics of onsite visitors, the overall perceptions and satisfaction of public spaces, and the perceptions of spatial and humanistic elements of visitors. The main findings are as follows: ① Onsite visitors are mainly male, with local tourists and nearby residents accounting for over 80%. Furthermore, over half of the visitors have limited understanding of the uncultivated RIFSs. ② People’s overall attitudes towards the uncultivated RIFSs are positive. And the ability to carry out meaningful activities and find comfort and safety are of the greatest concern to onsite tourists. ③ Among the visiting reasons, leisure stays accounted for the highest proportion, followed by sightseeing, sports stays and social stays. ④ The onsite visitors’ main focus of spatial elements and humanistic elements is different according to the different sites. However, visitors’ dissatisfaction is mainly reflected in poor site safety and sanitation conditions, inadequate facilities and poor surrounding environments. This paper also compares the online–offline differences in the spatial perceptions of the uncultivated RIFSs between this study and previous research; instead of focusing on the urban physical spaces, online social media users pay more attention to their self-presentation. Meanwhile, the visitors place greater emphasis on the functionality, practicality and experiential activities of the urban physical spaces. Finally, this article proposes optimization strategies for uncultivated RIFSs from planning and governance and public space design aspects to protect and strengthen the composite utilization of space, therefore enhancing diverse vitality.