Exploring the impact of park features and visitors’ socioeconomic status on park visitation: A case study of Austin, Texas

Urban parks offer significant environmental, social, and economic benefits, and understanding the factors that influence park usage is crucial to maximizing these benefits. Previous research has established that park visitation is associated with park features (e.g. vegetation, access to park, park amenities). However, there is a limited body of research on the relationship between specific park attributes and park usage among different demographics and income groups. To address this research gap, we took Austin, Texas as our study site, and utilized longitudinal individual-level and location-based big data (SafeGraph) to examine how park features, involving park characteristics (i.e. size, age), park natural features (i.e. tree canopy, water), and facilities, influence park usage across demographics and income groups. Our research reveals several key factors that influence park visitation. Median household income, distance to the park, the percentage of married couple households in the block group, and the percentage of people working from home are negatively associated with park visitation. Conversely, the percentage of males, median age, the percentage of children, and the percentage of the population owning houses are positively associated with park visitation. Additionally, we examined the various preferences towards park features across different income groups. The low-income group prefers parks that are newer, with water features, and with swimming pools. Tree canopy is a positive predictor for visitation among the low-income group at the p < 0.1 level. The middle-income group favors parks with scenic viewpoints but not parks with sports facilities. The high-income group is more likely to visit parks with water features. These findings provide valuable insights into how demographic groups prefer park visitation and how park characteristics that may encourage park visitation among different income groups, and they can help guide urban planners, designers, and policymakers in the allocation of parks with specific features to benefit different demographic groups urban residents to the greatest extent.