Time of Day and Workdays vs. Weekend Differences in the Use of Cultural Ecosystem Services in Urban Parks (Coimbra, Portugal)

Urban green spaces (UGS) are a key component to achieve United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) such as good health and wellbeing (Goal 3) and sustainable cities and communities (Goal 11). Among other areas, UGS comprise urban parks, which are key to supply a variety of ecosystem services (ES) to humans. However, urban dwellers visit parks at a different time of the day and the week. This study investigates the possible relevance of different times of the day and different week periods (workdays and weekends) for the visitation and use of urban parks. The data was collected through personal interviews in 5 urban parks (n = 1000) in Coimbra, Portugal. Data were collected during August 2020, considering six-time slots from 7h30 to 22h00 (7h30 to 9h30; 9h30 to 12h30; 12h30 to 14h30; 14h30 to 17h30; 17h30 to 20h30; 20h30 to 22h00), also differentiating working days and weekend days. Activity performed by respondents was aggregated into three groups of cultural ES: Physical interactions; Experiential and aesthetical interactions; and Social interactions. Our results showed differences in park use, in timeslots and weekdays. Timeslots were especially relevant in the largest park (Choupal national forest), where users looked for sport activities (e.g., running, biking), particularly in the morning period. Differences in weekday use were relevant in all five parks. In some parks we observed a lower diversity of CES in use during working days and high levels of social interactions during this period. Results also suggested that park usage along the day and between weekdays and weekends depending on the activities performed and park characteristics.