The impact of place perception and environmental behavior in carbon-neutral theme parks on health perception...

In the context of accelerating urbanization and shifting climate change, this study investigates the interplay between place perception, environmental behavior, and health perception within carbon-neutral theme parks, with a particular focus on the independent contribution of carbon-neutral characteristics beyond general urban green space attributes.

To achieve this, three carbon-neutral theme parks in Beijing-each possessing a distinct gradient of carbon-neutral features-were selected as a comparative case portfolio. A multi-dimensional data collection approach was adopted, integrating web crawling, questionnaire surveys, computer vision analysis, natural language processing, and LDA topic modeling to develop a theoretical framework linking place perception, pro-environmental behavior, and health perception. Structural equation modeling, along with Bootstrap mediation and moderation tests, was applied to elucidate the influencing pathways and interrelations among these dimensions.

The findings indicate: (1) Landscape visual characteristics, especially green view index, are positively associated with physical comfort. (2) Place emotional cognition is positively correlated with health perception and is also tied to indirect pathways via pro-environmental behavior, with place attachment exhibiting relatively stronger mediated associations with health perception;(3) Carbon-neutral characteristic perception remains independently associated with health perception after controlling for general place perception, varying by park infrastructure. (4) Pro-environmental behavior mediates the place perception-health perception link; ecological experience has the strongest association with psychological restoration.

Taken together, this study empirically identifies an independent association between carbon-neutral characteristic cognition and health perception, which is distinct from the effects of general green space. It further reveals how sensation, emotion, behavior, and health are theoretically interconnected within carbon-neutral theme parks, thereby providing theoretical and practical references for differentiated carbon-neutral park design in terms of landscape optimization, behavioral guidance, and health promotion.