Street Vibrancy and Outdoor Activities under COVID-19 Psychological Distress: Lessons from Hong Kong

Mirna Zordan (), Jin Yeu Tsou and Hao Huang
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Mirna Zordan: School of Design, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Jin Yeu Tsou: Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
Hao Huang: Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-22

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a distinctive impact on Hong Kong, especially given the city’s prior experience with the SARS outbreak. The resulting psychological distress has been exacerbated by Hong Kong’s extreme density and compactness, which places residents in proximity on the streets searching for outdoor activities. Streets are a precious source of space for social interactions, but, unfortunately, the pandemic has forced them to empty, leading to increased distress and challenging the psychological well-being of the urban population. In this study, we explore street vibrancy patterns in terms of outdoor activities, here addressed through a decision-making psychological perspective as volitional behaviors determined by psychological factors and essential for well-being, in one of the densest neighborhoods in Hong Kong. We statistically analyzed behavioral monitoring data in relation to spatial and morphological characteristics of their environments under COVID-19 psychological distress. The results highlighted the relevance of specific parcels of the streets acting as clusters and vibrancy initiators, stressing their significance in terms of affective and cognitive inputs determining context-based outdoor activities. The decision-making psychological perspective adopted here to address outdoor activities has relevant implications for design and planning strategies for post-pandemic scenarios, for psychological well-being, and for the future of urban density.

Keywords: street vibrancy; outdoor activities; psychological distress; psychological well-being; volitional behaviors; COVID-19; Hong Kong; high-density cities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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