Park green space accessibility and equity for age-friendly urban living in Kunming’s central district

With the accelerated aging process in China, the demand of the elderly for urban park green spaces has surged, making spatial accessibility and equity critical topics in the development of age-friendly cities. This study employs a community-scale spatial analysis approach, using Kunming’s main urban area as a case study, to develop a multidimensional assessment model. This model systematically evaluates the service efficiency of urban public green spaces for the elderly and proposes targeted spatial optimization strategies. By applying the Gaussian-based Two-Step Floating Catchment Area Method (Ga2SFCA) and integrating multimodal travel data (walking, cycling, public transit etc.), this study quantitatively reveals the spatial differentiation of park accessibility for the elderly. Results indicate that under both single-modal and multimodal travel scenarios, central urban areas exhibit significantly lower accessibility, with communities of extremely low accessibility accounting for 15.79%-52.15% of the total. Furthermore, a strong spatial correlation is identified between the total green space area in communities and the Comprehensive Aging Index (CAI), highlighting the need for integrated spatial planning to address aging-related challenges. Through Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model analysis, it is found that the central urban area’s low equity index is closely linked to high concentrations of CAI values and fragmented green space layouts. Notably, western districts with superior residential environmental quality display a negative spatial coupling with green space allocation equity, exposing a paradox where high-quality environments do not translate into equitable resource distribution. This study develops a “spatial equity – human settlement quality” dual-dimensional evaluation framework, revealing a “north-high, south-low” CAI distribution pattern and a “west-high, east-low” spatial differentiation of residential environment index in Kunming’s main urban area. Based on the analysis of supply–demand mismatch, a community-level targeted micro-green space supplementation strategy is proposed to address resource allocation conflicts in high-demand, low-supply areas. The developed age-friendly green space system optimization plan offers quantitative analytical tools and spatial intervention pathways for urban green space planning in aging societies, providing valuable practical insights for advancing age-friendly city development.