Research on Environmental Behavior of Urban Parks in the North of China during Cold Weather—Nankai Park as a Case Study

The aging of the population is not only a global challenge, but it is also a major concern in the research on environmental behaviors. Urban green spaces are regarded as crucial for the well-being of the elderly. However, there is still a lack of in-depth investigation into the effect of spatial factors on the public activities performed by the elderly in urban parks in cold weather. Therefore, this study is aimed at filling this gap, with Nankai Park in Tianjin as the research object. In order to achieve this purpose, the behavioral patterns of elderly park users are mapped in this paper, based on participatory observation in combination with the collection of spatial data through continuous photography. To begin with, the park space is divided into 23 areas for correlation analysis. UCL Depthmap software is then used for park space syntax analysis, with Tangent used to evaluate the sunshine (shadow) factors. Specific indexes are established to quantify the spatial factors in each area, such as the shortest distance to the exit, the green space ratio, and facility density. GIS (Geographic Information System) is applied for data integration, and SPSS is applied to reveal the correlation between the behavioral data and the selected spatial factors. The key findings are as follows. (1) There are four space syntax indexes closely correlated with the activities that the elderly participate in. (2) The solar (overshadowing) conditions play an important role in the distribution of elderly park users. (3) There is no definitive relationship exhibited by the pattern of activities performed by the elderly with various factors such as number and diversity of seating facilities as well as the quantity and diversity of seating facilities. Finally, this analysis aims to explore research methodology that extends from qualitative observation to quantitative analysis. Future research will focus on the shaping of aging-friendly urban communities, which is expected to deepen our understanding of public activities held within urban parks in cold weather across the northern cities of China.