Urban park visiting habits and leisure activities of residents in Hong Kong, China

Abstract

This paper examines urban park visiting behaviour of Hong Kong residents. It uses the findings from a telephone survey conducted in 2005, in which 758 Hong Kong residents were successfully interviewed. The survey found that there were slightly more infrequent park users than frequent park users (FPUs) in Hong Kong. About 8% of the respondents said that they never visit urban parks. Of the 43% of FPUs, many of them were either elderly or adolescents. The survey revealed that many users visited parks near their homes and stayed there for a short time. The most appealing activities for park users were doing exercise and taking leisure walks. The dominant barrier that deterred people from going to parks was lack of time to go. Obviously, this is a reflection of the lifestyle of Hong Kong people, in which working long hours are the norm. The findings contributed to a better understanding of the present park-visiting habits of Hong Kong people and indicated that the park authority needs to review its current park planning, design, and management policies to better meet the needs of users. Moreover, in response to the challenges caused by the declining birth rates and the upsurge of the ageing population in recent years, Hong Kong needs to map out a comprehensive strategy to develop urban parks that can cater to the leisure needs of its citizens.

Keywords:

• Hong Kong
• park visiting habits
• leisure activities
• perceptions
• planning implications

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This research was funded by Faculty Research Grant Projects (FRG/05-06/I-33 and FRG/04-05/II-67) of the Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, P.R. China.