A satisfaction analysis of the infrastructure of country parks in Beijing

The city of Beijing began its “country parks circle projects” in 2007; since then, more than 50 country parks have been built to provide recreational facilities and to improve the quality of the landscape surrounding the city. As this fast-paced and massive construction of country parks has been put into public use, many problems that are associated with infrastructure and support services have arisen. In this study, we analyzed the infrastructure status of 38 built-up country parks and performed a cluster analysis to determine the correlation and characteristics of the parks. Meanwhile, a public opinion survey was conducted on infrastructure support. The results indicate that the parks had an average green space ratio (green space area over park area) of 91.0%. The average road density was less than 200 m/ha. The public restroom service radii ranged from 178 m to 480 m. The average density of waste disposal bins was 1.3 pcs/100 m, and the average density of resting facilities was 32.3 pcs/km. Twenty-one percent of the country parks were equipped with sports, fitness and children's entertainment facilities, and 19 of the country parks were equipped with a complete signage system on the roads and plants. Using a cluster analysis, the 38 country parks were classified into four clusters (cluster 4 had only one park). However, the results of the public acceptance survey in eight of the parks indicated an overwhelming dissatisfaction by park visitors toward the park facilities. These findings reveal a clear picture that the massive build-up of the county parks system faces massive management challenges in the present and future. A large amount of work on public facilities is needed in order to improve the fundamental services in these parks.