Preference Assessment and Prioritization of the Urban Green Space Features Using Qualitative Evaluation and AHP Decision Model

The global rapid urbanization process has forced the issue of urban green space to be importantly addressed with regards to promoting leisure opportunities, health benefits and aesthetic enjoyment of urban residents. Urban green spaces such as the public parks are very influential in contributing to the quality of life to communities in various ways. Their features represent the physical activity patterns, perceptions and the preferences of park users. At present, there is no attempt to explore the importance of these features in designing sustainable urban community parks. This paper uses the qualitative assessment to analyze the preferences of park users and expert decision makers to prioritize the urban green space features. The preferential statistics and the AHP-decision model were applied in the urban green space study of two prominent recreational parks in Ipoh, Malaysia. The results have indicated that the people's aspiration towards an ideal public park has led to the associated changes and demands upon available green features. The outcome of the prioritize study shows that safety feature attributes are ranked as a most important attribute, followed in sequence by other attributes viz. maintenance, accessibility, property value, signage and lighting, visual pattern, facilities, location and water bodies. The prioritized feature attributes are considered significant in selecting the factors of urban green space in relation to urban residential living areas. It can positively assist in defining the components of future urban green space features in the global urbanization policy.