The impact of renewal of an urban park in Belgium on park use, park-based physical activity, and social interaction: A natural experiment

Studies investigating the impact of park renewal on park use, park-based physical activity (PA), and social interaction are scarce and mainly conducted in Australia and North-America. This study investigates the impact of renewal of an urban public park in Belgium, Europe, on park use, park-based PA, and social interaction using a natural experiment. Baseline observational data of park visitors and their levels of PA were collected in two public parks with similar features and amenities. After the renewal of one park (i.e., installation of (1) paved walking and cycling paths, (2) benches and picnic tables, (3) outdoor fitness equipment, and (4) playgrounds for different age categories), observations were repeated in both parks. At posttest, park users' social interaction was assessed. Generalized linear (mixed) models were fitted to investigate the impact of the renewal on the number of park visitors, their levels of PA, and their level of social interaction. We found that urban park renewal can strongly increase the number of park visitors across age categories. However, no evidence for an effect of park renewal on visitors' mean PA level was detected. Similarly, the level of social interaction observed among park visitors at posttest did not differ between both parks.