Towards Realistic Assignments Between Residents and Urban Public Green Spaces by Considering the Recreational Quality

Abstract Ensuring the quality of urban life necessitates the provision of urban public green spaces (UPGSs) in ample measure. These UPGSs serve as critical components of urban environments, contributing to the well-being and sustainability of cities. Hence, urban planners and decision-makers need to evaluate this supply. A recent method for such an evaluation is based on an optimal assignment between the residents and the UPGSs of an urban area. The method constrains the assignment such that the capacities of the UPGSs (i.e., the number of residents they can supply) are respected. These capacities are assumed to be proportional to size. In this study, we challenge and relax the prevailing assumption, redefining its constraints for a more accurate evaluation of UPGS capacities. We propose a novel approach for modeling the capacity of urban public green spaces (UPGS) by incorporating ten supplementary recreational criteria, including: responsiveness, safety and security, variety of activities, social interactions, residents’ perception, facilities, symbolic value, water body, aesthetic value, and connectivity, which we quantify using data derived from social media platforms. Our experiments show that the new model yields assignments that are more consistent with the actual use of UPGSs by residents. This innovative methodology allows us to gain deeper insights into the multifaceted aspects that influence the utilization and potential of UPGSs, paving the way for more informed and data-driven decision-making in urban planning and design.