Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Industrial Heritage Parks Based on User Perception: A Comparative Study of Three Parks in Changsha, China

Industrial heritage parks combine heritage conservation with urban public use, making it necessary to assess renewal outcomes in relation to post-construction user experiences and conditions of use. Existing studies have primarily focused on conservation and renewal practices, whereas differences in user perceptions across different types of industrial heritage parks remain relatively underexplored. This study examines Huochetou Cultural Park, Yuxiang Spinning Mill Park, and Zhushantang Industrial Heritage Park in Changsha and develops a user-perception-based post-occupancy evaluation framework. The framework comprises six dimensions: architectural space, public space, functional facilities, ecological environment, cultural value, and public participation. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to determine indicator weights, and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE) is applied to compare perceived post-occupancy performance, with supplementary statistical tests used to examine factor-level differences. The results show that all three parks are rated as “Good” overall, although their evaluation profiles differ. Huochetou Cultural Park performs relatively well in public space and functional facilities; Zhushantang Industrial Heritage Park shows relative strengths in architectural space and cultural value; and Yuxiang Spinning Mill Park performs relatively well in ecological environment and public participation. Ecological environment remains comparatively weak across the three parks, while public participation also warrants further attention. These findings suggest that similar overall ratings may obscure case-specific post-occupancy conditions. Accordingly, targeted recommendations are proposed for each park. This study provides a case-based reference for the post-occupancy evaluation and differentiated renewal of similar industrial heritage parks.