Differentiating dog-park visitors: Motivational market segments within an urban green system

Abstract

Dog parks are one of the fastest growing urban park segments in the United States and beyond. Despite this growth, dog park and associated visitor research remains scant. Given the proliferation of dog parks in the urban landscape and the ongoing land use and design challenges they present, it seems prudent to discern differences among dog-park users. This explorative study differentiated dog-park permit holders of the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA to inform green space planning and management. Dog-park permit holders were sent an electronic invitation to complete a questionnaire and a single reminder that yielded a 30 % response rate (n = 2059). Descriptive, factor, cluster, and comparative analysis revealed four motivation-based clusters that differed by place attachment, constraint factors, visitation frequency and willingness to travel to a dog park. Constraints to dog-park visitation were relatively low and consistent with ‘nature social enthusiasts’ more constrained by dog-health status, while both ‘nature social enthusiasts’ and ‘solitary dog visitors’ were constrained by rules, likely due to their significantly higher visitation and exposure to them than the other two segments. All visitors were willing to travel at least twice the distance to a dog-park than their current trip, which can inform typical travel routes and system needs. The heterogeneity suggests the necessity and opportunity to engage across segments to inform planning and design. Further, the diverse desires for socialization and solitude inform immediate design opportunities.