Management of Urban Water Landscape Facilitating Multi-Layer Water Sports: Subjective Perception and Objective Evidence

In the context of national fitness and ecological construction, urban water, as the core carrier of water sports, is increasingly being explored. Through empirical analysis of urban water bodies in Nanjing and Shanghai, the Spearman model and an XGBoost model, based on SHAP, are used to examine the correlation between the subjective perceptions of water-landscape images by various types of water-sports participants and objective evidence of urban water-landscape elements. The results show that amateurs prefer a high green-view index (>20%) + low water visibility (≤30%) + low sky visibility (≤30%) + shallow-water area (≤1.5 m), which enhances their satisfaction with the leisure experience; progressors prefer a moderate green-view index (10–20%) + moderate water visibility (30–40%) + moderate sky visibility (30–40%) + medium water-depth area (1.5–2.5 m), which helps them achieve better perception of skill improvement and training effectiveness; professionals prefer high water visibility (≥40%) + high sky visibility (≥40%) + low green-view index (≤10%) + deep-water area (≥2.5 m), which meets their training requirements for professional competitions. This study provides a scientific basis for urban water landscape planning and design in order to create urban water sports spaces that respond to the needs of various types of water sports participants.