Qi Yan

Urban green spaces provide essential ecosystem services, yet mismatches between subjective perceptions and objective assessments may constrain effective planning. This study examines the correspondence between perceived and measured ecosystem services across two contrasting urban green spaces in Shanghai: Century Park, a managed urban park, and Sanlin Green Space, a naturalistic urban forest. Objective ecosystem services (regulating, supporting, and cultural) were quantified using UAV-based biotope mapping and indicators including biophysical metrics (Net Primary Production, Water Retention, PM10 removal, and Land Surface Temperature), structural diversity indices (Shannon Diversity of land cover, vegetation, and tree structure), and visual–spatial proxies (Green View Index, Sky View Index, Water View Index, color metrics, and spatial openness). Subjective perceptions were derived from panoramic image-based questionnaires, with perception scores predicted using XGBoost and aggregated via SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP). Correlation analyses, spatial regression models, and partial least squares structural equation modeling were applied to explore relationships and pathways. Results show weak but significant positive associations in the urban park, whereas no overall correspondence was observed in the urban forest. Spatial mismatches were concentrated in biotopes with distinctive visual–ecological features and in fragmented areas. Green View Index is associated with higher perceptions in both sites, while the Sky View Index reduced perception in the forest context. These findings highlight strong context dependence in perceived–measured ecosystem service relationships and underscore the importance of integrating ecological structure and visual legibility in the design and management of the studied urban green spaces in Shanghai.

Urban parks provide essential ecosystem services (ESs) that enhance human wellbeing. However, discrepancies often arise between objective assessments of these services and stakeholders’ subjective perceptions. This study addresses a research gap concerning the synergies and tradeoffs between objective evaluations and subjective perceptions of key ecosystem services across various spatial scales. We investigated six key ecosystem services in Century Park, Shanghai, across seven buffer radii (8–100 m). Objective data were obtained from park view images (PVIs) and spatial analysis, while subjective perceptions were gathered through a scoring survey of 33 stakeholders. The key finding is that a buffer radius of 35 m offers optimal synergy between objective and subjective assessments for most ESs, particularly in pollution mediation, temperature regulation, and cultural services. Professionals showed stronger alignment in regulatory services like pollution mediation and temperature regulation, while residents exhibited higher synergy in net primary production (NPP) beyond a 75 m radius. Notably, cultural services displayed nuanced differences, with professionals preferring simpler landscapes and residents demonstrating varied aesthetic preferences. These findings emphasize the importance of integrating objective data and human perceptions in urban green space planning and governance. By incorporating diverse stakeholders and identifying optimal buffer zones, planners and designers can effectively balance ESs with human experiences. This approach ultimately fosters more sustainable and wellbeing-centered urban environments.

Creating wonderful emotional experiences is the critical social function and cultural service of urban parks. Park sentiment patterns in rapidly urbanizing metropolitan areas need to be understood and interpreted thoroughly. This research aims to systematically study park sentiment patterns in metropolitan areas. By focusing on parks in Shanghai city and using the local mainstream social media data (SMD) of Dazhong Dianping, Ctrip, and Weibo, we created a series of score-related indicators to estimate park sentiment. We then applied statistical analyses to systematically interpret sentiment patterns in the spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal domains, explored their related factors, and compared the performance of different SMD sources. The results proved that Shanghai parks generally bring positive emotions to visitors but showed uneven sentiment patterns citywide. Park sentiment distributions differed from various SMD sources, but the SMD sets of Dazhong Dianping and Ctrip showed significant correlations. For these two SMD sets, visitors have greater and more stable happiness in parks on a workday than on a non-workday and in spring than in other seasons. Parks with higher positive sentiments are scattered citywide, whereas those with lower emotions are clustered in the downtown area. For Weibo, more positive emotions occurred on non-workdays or in autumn, and the lower mood clustering did not exist. Moreover, the quality-related internal factors of the park itself, rather than external factors such as location and conditions, were identified to influence park sentiment. The innovations of park sentiment methods in this study included using multiple SMD sets, creating more accurate sentiment indexes, and applying statistics in temporal, spatial, and spatiotemporal domains. These enhanced sentiment analyses for urban parks to obtain more systematic, comprehensive, and thorough results. The defects and improvements for urban park construction were explored by interpreting park sentiment patterns and possible causes and effects. This motivates better park management and urban development, and enlightens urban planners, landscape designers, and policymakers.