Relationship between green space resources, health and well-being, user satisfaction, and environmentally responsible behavior of urban park visitors

Urban parks connect residents with nature, provide everyday recreation, and support environmental sustainability. Yet increasing instances of environmentally irresponsible acts threaten park ecology, underscoring the need to understand and foster environmentally responsible behavior (ERB). Focusing on Chang’an Park in Shijiazhuang, we surveyed 405 visitors using five-point Likert measures and tested a structural equation model with SPSS 24 and AMOS 24. The model shows that green space resources, health and well-being (HWB), and satisfaction are all positively associated with ERB. HWB was positively associated with ERB. Although emotional connectedness to nature was not directly measured, prior research suggests that positive experiences in parks may foster feelings of connectedness that relate to responsible actions. These findings suggest that improving visitors’ HWB is a pivotal lever for stimulating ERB and, in turn, enhancing the environmental quality of urban parks. We discuss practical implications for park design and management, acknowledge methodological limitations (e.g., self-report measures and lack of observational validation), and propose directions for future research.