Revealing urban lingering pattern at lake front: A spatial information mapping approach through public participatory GIS

Abstract

“Urban lingering” implies an extended stay of users in urban public spaces, which has physical, emotional, and social benefits. In recent times, lingering in public spaces has been increasingly taken over by sedentary lifestyles and the growing influence of social media. Hence, this paper attempts to identify the key factors contributing to urban lingering in public spaces to enhance users' experiences during their stay. For this, contributing factors to urban lingering were identified from literature and measured in five selected recreational public spaces in Bhopal City, the capital of Madhya Pradesh in India. Relationships between Lingering Factor (LF) and contributing factors were then established for male and female users. Public Participatory Geographic Information System (PPGIS) and questionnaire surveys were employed for spatial mapping and perception modeling. The findings of primary surveys indicate that the feeling of safety, parking availability, pleasing design, and memorability of the public space together strongly influence LF across all user groups (R² = 0.47, p value < 0.05). Data revealed that for male users, adequately sized spaces and lighting contribute to their lingering behavior (R² = 0.56, p value < 0.05), whereas for female users, accessibility and activities in public spaces are significant contributors to their lingering (R² = 0.48, p value < 0.05). The differences in the contributing factors to urban LF between male and female users confirm that users’ needs in public spaces thus present variation in preferences across space and the presented approach could be considered in planning infrastructure policies to enhance overall wellbeing.