Urban Parks and Office Workers’ Health: Considering the Influence of Marital Status and Different Qualities of Urban Parks

Xuanxian Chen, Massoomeh Hedayati Marzbali () and Aldrin Abdullah
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Xuanxian Chen: School of Housing, Building & Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, USM, Penang 11800, Malaysia
Massoomeh Hedayati Marzbali: School of Housing, Building & Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, USM, Penang 11800, Malaysia
Aldrin Abdullah: School of Housing, Building & Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, USM, Penang 11800, Malaysia

Societies, 2024, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: This study addresses the impact of urban parks on the self-rated health of office workers under 40, a demographic experiencing significant increases in depressive symptoms during the pandemic. This study in Baise City, China, aims to fill this gap by exploring the relationships between landscape quality, leisure time spent in parks, place attachment, and self-rated health among 411 office workers aged 18 to 40. Structural equation modeling was used to assess these relationships, and multigroup analysis (MGA) in SmartPLS evaluated differences between subgroups. The findings reveal a strong link between urban park landscape quality and leisure time spent in parks, place attachment, and self-rated health. Although the old-fashioned park showed lower overall performance in the study variables compared to the modern park, it had a stronger relationship between landscape quality and place attachment. Leisure time spent in parks did not directly impact self-rated health but was mediated by place attachment. MGA results indicated that while leisure time in parks positively affected self-rated health for single participants, it had a negative effect for married participants. These results underscore the importance of tailoring urban park design and management to accommodate the varying needs of different demographics. This research provides new insights into enhancing office workers’ self-rated health through environmental design and supports the objectives of the Healthy China strategy and Sustainable Development Goal 11.

Keywords: marital status; office workers; self-rated health; place attachment; old-fashioned or modern urban parks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 A14 P P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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