Mapping and Quantifying Spatial and Temporal Dynamics and Bundles of Travel Flows of Residents Visiting Urban Parks

Understanding the spatial and temporal movement patterns of residents visiting urban parks is essential to link park use with human well-being. There has been increasing interest recently in quantifying travel behaviors, but most studies have focused on flows of commuters within cities or tourists flows between cities. Actual, specific spatial and temporal connections between urban parks and residents within cities are still poorly understood. Here, we present an approach to take different types of travel flows into account when mapping and quantifying the spatial delivery and temporal dynamics of specific travel flows. This approach is based on empirical investigation of individuals’ movements from their homes to parks and online map navigation technology. The flow maps we generated capture key travel flow patterns, addressing where, which, when, and how much they were associated with the use of recreational service provided by urban parks in Wuhan, China, during the summers of 2015 and 2016. Such maps may aid efforts to restore or improve the efficiency of park access and use. We also examined bundles of these spatial and temporal flows, and show that similar transport conditions were important for bundling spatial flows, while temporal flow bundles were significantly related to spatial features. These findings could help to reveal potential trade-offs and synergies of travel flows associated with space and time constraints and facilitate exploration of policy alternatives for equitable and efficient use of urban park systems.