Evaluation of Spatial Attractiveness and Its Influencing Factors Across Different Types of Recreational Spaces in Suzhou Industrial Park

Recreational spaces in industrial parks are essential components of sustainable urban development, as they contribute to environmental quality, social well-being, and the transformation of production-oriented areas into livable urban environments. This study aims to develop a spatial attractiveness evaluation framework tailored to recreational spaces in industrial parks, to identify and compare the key factors influencing attractiveness across different recreational space types, and to reveal the functional complementarity and underlying mechanisms among these spaces. Taking Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) as a case study, a three-dimensional evaluation framework integrating spatial attributes, experiential perception, and place identity was constructed using GIS-based spatial analysis, questionnaire surveys, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The spatial attractiveness of nature-dominated, mixed-type, and artificial-dominated recreational spaces was systematically evaluated and compared. The results show that experiential perception and place identity exert a stronger influence on spatial attractiveness than objective spatial attributes. Nature-dominated spaces primarily support ecological restoration and psychological recovery, mixed-type spaces facilitate diverse social and leisure activities, and artificial-dominated spaces are more suited to short-duration, high-frequency use, demonstrating clear functional complementarity. These findings highlight the necessity of type-specific strategies for enhancing recreational spaces in industrial parks and emphasize their role in supporting environmentally, socially, and functionally sustainable urban development. The proposed framework provides a transferable approach for evaluating and optimizing recreational spaces in other functionally mixed urban contexts.

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Publication Details

Journal
Sustainability
Published
2026-01-19
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/su18021028
Primary Topic
Place Attachment and Urban Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Evaluation of Spatial Attractiveness and Its Influencing Factors Across Different Types of Recreational Spaces in Suzhou Industrial Park

Zhengwei Xia, Lin Xu, Chenyuan HAN, Zhenchen Chen et al.
Sustainability
Place Attachment and Urban Studies
article

Evaluation of Spatial Attractiveness and Its Influencing Factors Across Different Types of Recreational Spaces in Suzhou Industrial Park

Zhengwei Xia, Lin Xu, Chenyuan HAN, Zhenchen Chen, Chuanyou Mao, Liang Zhang
article en

Abstract

Recreational spaces in industrial parks are essential components of sustainable urban development, as they contribute to environmental quality, social well-being, and the transformation of production-oriented areas into livable urban environments. This study aims to develop a spatial attractiveness evaluation framework tailored to recreational spaces in industrial parks, to identify and compare the key factors influencing attractiveness across different recreational space types, and to reveal the functional complementarity and underlying mechanisms among these spaces. Taking Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) as a case study, a three-dimensional evaluation framework integrating spatial attributes, experiential perception, and place identity was constructed using GIS-based spatial analysis, questionnaire surveys, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The spatial attractiveness of nature-dominated, mixed-type, and artificial-dominated recreational spaces was systematically evaluated and compared. The results show that experiential perception and place identity exert a stronger influence on spatial attractiveness than objective spatial attributes. Nature-dominated spaces primarily support ecological restoration and psychological recovery, mixed-type spaces facilitate diverse social and leisure activities, and artificial-dominated spaces are more suited to short-duration, high-frequency use, demonstrating clear functional complementarity. These findings highlight the necessity of type-specific strategies for enhancing recreational spaces in industrial parks and emphasize their role in supporting environmentally, socially, and functionally sustainable urban development. The proposed framework provides a transferable approach for evaluating and optimizing recreational spaces in other functionally mixed urban contexts.

SustainabilityVol. 18(2)
State Administration of Cultural Heritage (CN), Soochow University (CN)
Sustainable cities and communities
Openalex Percentile: Top 86%
Place Attachment and Urban Studies
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