Inspiring Social Capital Through Community Green Space: Pathways and Implications

<sec><title>Objective</title> The evolution of urban community governance in China has progressed through three distinct historical phases: The danwei (work unit) system under planned economy, the neighborhood committee system during market reform, and the current community-based governance model. These institutional transformations have fundamentally reshaped social relationship patterns, eroding traditional kinship-based connections and resulting in fragmented community networks and a continuous decline in residents’ sense of belonging. In recent years, urban renewal strategies have shifted from singular focus on physical space renovation to integrated approaches that actively cultivate social capital — collective assets embedded in social networks, mutual trust, and shared behavioral norms. Across Chinese cities, green space development initiatives (particularly community gardens and urban agriculture programs) are increasingly positioned as dual-purpose interventions that bridge physical environment improvement with social relationship reconstruction, often serving as neutral grounds for conflict resolution and collective identity formation. While these projects demonstrate potential in enhancing community cohesion and resident well-being, persistent challenges exist regarding sustainable operation funding models , quantifiable social outcomes, and equitable access across socioeconomic groups. Under China’s precision governance paradigm emphasizing data-driven policymaking, this research systematically investigates the operational mechanisms through which community green spaces inspire social capital, incorporating both grassroots practices and institutional innovations, based on which evidence-based optimization strategies for urban renewal practices are proposed. </sec><sec><title>Methods</title> This research combines visual mapping analysis based on CitieSpace software with a number of inductive and deductive review methods. The process involves three main stages. The first stage uses CitieSpace to analyze global research patterns by studying countries with largest research output and tracking changes in key research topics over time. The second stage carefully examines existing research to identify common research methods, areas of agreement among scholars, and ongoing debates in the field. The third stage creates a focused collection of studies that specifically explore how green spaces create social benefits, with a focus on the following three aspects: How people connect socially, how trust develops between community members, and how shared community rules form. For the data collection phase, English-language articles published between January 2000 and October 2023 are gathered from the Web of Science database using search terms related to social connections and green spaces. The search strategy is TS = (“social capital*” OR “social network”) AND (“green space*” OR “garden” OR “park”). The research selects 63 articles that clearly link green spaces to community social benefits after removing duplicate entries and unrelated research. After a thorough evaluation, the research selects 32 articles specifically explaining how green spaces foster social connections for final analysis. </sec><sec><title>Results</title> Geographical distribution analysis reveals concentrated research output from Western countries: The United States contributes 22 studies (34.9%), followed by Canada (8), Australia (5), and the United Kingdom (4), collectively representing 72% of total publications. Temporal keyword evolution identifies three developmental stages: The early phase (2000–2010) emphasized macro-level urban green infrastructure planning and public health outcomes; the middle phase (2010–2018) shifted focus to micro-level community gardens as mental health interventions and food security solutions; the current phase (post-2018) explores multifunctional green spaces as social capital incubators within precision governance frameworks. Researchers generally agree on four main findings. First, green spaces act as important gathering places that encourage social interaction. Second, the interaction of social networks, trust, and norms is facilitated by social interactions in green spaces. Third, higher quality green spaces tend to support stronger community relationships. Fourth, how people perceive and experience these spaces matters more than their physical characteristics alone. However, debates continue about whether the social benefits created in green spaces spread to other parts of the community and whether they reach all community groups equally. </sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title> The research identifies three primary ways community green spaces help build social connections. The first involves creating different types of social networks — strengthening bonds among similar groups, building bridges between different groups, and connecting people across social levels. The second focuses on developing trust through safer spaces and neighborly cooperation. The third centers on turning shared experiences in green spaces into formal community guidelines that guide how spaces are planned, used, and maintained. Building on these findings and considering current practices in Chinese community projects, three key recommendations emerge. The first suggests combining local community resources with outside support to create networks of shared interest. The second proposes starting with small-scale green space projects to build trust and maintain community engagement over time. The third emphasizes involving residents directly in managing green spaces to turn collective experiences into established community practices. These strategies aim to help communities better integrate social connection-building into green space development efforts while addressing ongoing challenges in project sustainability and effectiveness. Three prospective research directions are proposed based on the deficiencies and trends in international research: Enhancing the mechanisms through which green spaces cultivate social capital, identifying critical factors that affect social capital to guide the augmentation of the social impact of community green spaces; examining the disparities in green space requirements among various demographics; and investigating community governance strategies informed by green space interventions. Owing to regional disparities, pertinent research must be integrated with the current circumstances of community revitalization and governance in China, tackling genuine challenges and prospective development objectives. </sec>