Fairness of urban park layout from the perspective of multidimensional supply and demand relationship

In the context of rapid urban expansion and population growth, spatial inequality between the supply and demand of urban parks has emerged as a key research area. Current research tends to concentrate on methodological studies of supply and demand, neglecting comprehensive multidimensional evaluation. This study constructed a multidimensional spatial inequality evaluation framework encompassing three dimensions—supply capacity, supply quality, and actual demand—from the perspective of multidimensional inequality. Taking the megacity of Shanghai, China as an example, the spatial inequality of Shanghai's parks was evaluated by employing the spatial superposition method to analyze multidimensional data, incorporating indicators such as park accessibility, service quality and capacity, and utilization frequency. The results indicated significant spatial inequality in the supply and demand of parks in Shanghai, with the central city exhibiting a more pronounced mismatch than the surrounding areas. This is primarily because larger parks are concentrated in central cities with higher urbanization levels, the supply of smaller parks is insufficient, and the overall distribution of parks is uneven, leading to a prominent contradiction between supply and demand. This framework can evaluate the supply and demand of urban parks more accurately from various perspectives than traditional methods, providing a scientific and systematic evaluation tool for urban planning and policymaking. For instance, when devising a city's housing policy, the tool, may be employed to evaluate housing conditions and affordability across communities. This enables policymakers to formulate targeted housing improvement plans, thereby enhancing living conditions, mitigating housing inequality, and rationally allocating public resources. In addition, as a global mega city, Shanghai is highly representative in terms of urban expansion and land resource supply and demand, and establishing an accurate framework of evaluation can provide references for other cities.