Author(s)

Chao Wang

Corresponding Author

Chao Wang

ABSTRACT

Parks are indispensable urban spaces where residents and visitors spend leisure time to relish. Almost two years after the outbreaks of the pandemic, this tiny invisible creature has caused gargantuan changes to the patterns of people’s lives and daily behaviors, including an impact on the visiting experience of park visitors. Decision-makers have employed corresponding technologies and policies, following local and national guidelines in dealing with this world-challenging public health crisis. However, these technologies and regulations vary, depending on location, local context, financial conditions, etc. To understand how communities and visitors are influenced by those emerging technologies and policies, specific urban spaces were studied, examining four urban cores in southern China, using ethnographic observation and semi-structured interviews. The findings of this study suggests that there are still gaps and challenges between technology users and purveyors in terms of users’ experience and regulation implementation. Given the results of this study, decision-makers should employ various technologies that consider these gaps and adopt a pragmatic approach in implementing corresponding policies.

KEYWORDS

High-tech, Low-tech, COVID-19, Park, Pragmatic approach