Beyond Homogeneous Perception: Classifying Urban Visitors’ Forest-Based Recreation Behavior for Policy Adaptation

Young-Jo Yun, Ga Eun Choi, Ji-Ye Lee and Yun Eui Choi ()
Additional contact information
Young-Jo Yun: Department of Ecological Landscape Architecture Design, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea
Ga Eun Choi: Department of Landscape Architecture, Graduate School, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea
Ji-Ye Lee: Department of Landscape Architecture, Graduate School, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea
Yun Eui Choi: Department of Ecological Landscape Architecture Design, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-20

Abstract: Urban forests, as a form of green infrastructure, play a vital role in enhancing urban resilience, environmental health, and quality of life. However, users perceive and utilize these spaces in diverse ways. This study aims to identify latent perception types among urban forest visitors and analyze their behavioral, demographic, and policy-related characteristics in Incheon Metropolitan City (Republic of Korea). Using latent class analysis, four distinct visitor types were identified: multipurpose recreationists, balanced relaxation seekers, casual forest users, and passive forest visitors. Multipurpose recreationists preferred active physical use and sports facilities, while balanced relaxation seekers emphasized emotional well-being and cultural experiences. Casual users engaged lightly with forest settings, and passive forest visitors exhibited minimal recreational interest. Satisfaction with forest elements such as vegetation, facilities, and management conditions varied across visitor types and age groups, especially among older adults. These findings highlight the need for perception-based green infrastructure planning. Policy recommendations include expanding accessible neighborhood green spaces for aging populations, promoting community-oriented events, and offering participatory forest programs for youth engagement. By integrating user segmentation into urban forest planning and governance, this study contributes to more inclusive, adaptive, and sustainable management of urban green infrastructure.

Keywords: latent class analysis; urban forest visitor segmentation; recreation demand and satisfaction; user-oriented green space policy; perception-based governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/8/1584/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/8/1584/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:8:p:1584-:d:1716594

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().