Dynamic Perspectives: Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Time-Segmented Environmental Drivers of Public Recreational Behavior in Urban Parks

Urban parks are increasingly confronted with a mismatch between static, blueprint-driven planning paradigms and residents’ diverse and temporally dynamic recreational demands. Recreational behavior is shaped by both relatively stable landscape attributes and time-varying environmental conditions. However, this dynamic perspective remains insufficiently incorporated into current research and planning practice. This study examines Fuzhou Hot Spring Park in Fujian Province, China, using all-day, park-wide field observations to investigate recreational behavior, static landscape factors, and temporal environmental factors. Time-segmented multiple linear regression models were employed to analyze the effects of environmental factors and their interactions on recreational behavior across different periods of the day. The results reveal marked spatiotemporal differentiation in park use. (1) Middle-aged visitors dominate the park’s spatiotemporal use patterns, exhibiting dispersed use in the morning, clustering in small nodal spaces during the daytime, and expansion into larger areal spaces. (2) The driving mechanisms of recreational behavior vary across time periods. Stable landscape elements, especially facilities, exert persistent effects, but these are further modified by temporal environmental factors. For middle-aged and older adults, microclimatic conditions are a key factor shaping temporal fluctuations in visitation: daytime heat weakens the effects of connectivity and facilities, whereas nighttime relative humidity, combined with facilities, encourages longer stays. Regarding behavior types, relaxation activities (RA) and social interaction activities (SIA) often co-occur and are both supported by resting facilities, but RA depend more strongly on microclimatic conditions, whereas SIA are more closely associated with soundscape. These findings inform dynamic regulation and adaptive design strategies for urban parks and provide practical guidance for adaptive planning and improved demand–supply alignment.