Could there be negative sentiments toward urban parks? An analysis of internal and external factors

Urbanization and its associated stressors have amplified the importance of mental health. Urban parks serve a vital function in mitigating adverse emotions and fostering emotional well-being. Nevertheless, inadequate maintenance and poor landscape design often result in unfavorable public perceptions of these parks. While previous studies have predominantly examined the positive emotional benefits of urban parks, this research seeks to investigate the negative sentiments linked to these spaces, focusing on both their internal and external attributes that may contribute to such perceptions. This study analyzed 83 urban parks in the main districts of Nanjing city, employing sentiment analysis on Weibo microblog posts through natural language processing techniques to assess public negative sentiments. Multiple linear regression models were employed to investigate the relationship between the internal and external characteristics of urban parks and public negative sentiments. The results revealed significant relationships between physical attributes, landscape visual quality, accessibility, built-environment density as well as park management and the negative sentiments reported by the public. These findings inform the planning and management of urban parks to enhance the emotional well-being of the public.