Leisure Participation Pattern of Residents in a New Chinese City

The leisure sector in Chinese cities has flourished in recent years. Lacking leisure studies could compromise resource supply and management. We explored urban residents’ participation in twenty-five leisure activities in Zhuhai, a newly developed city in south China. Leisure activities were classified into four groups based on consumption venue (intrahome and extrahome) and physical activities (passive and active). A face-to-face questionnaire survey included 850 households in seventy residential precincts chosen by a clustered sampling scheme, generating 598 valid questionnaires. Responses were solicited on participation level on weekdays and holidays, leisure time, leisure companions, leisure barriers, use of urban green spaces, and respondents’ socioeconomic profile. Multiple and logistic regressions were computed. Intrahome activities have higher participation rates than extrahome activities, and passive notably higher than active. The weekday leisure pattern is similar to holiday patterns despite more leisure time. Watching television, chatting with families or friends, and leisure reading are premier intrahome activities. Walking for leisure and shopping are the main extrahome engagements. Intrahome activities are more prominent among urban-based, homebound, passive-oriented, sedentary, and individualistic noninteractive types, with health implications. Middle-aged residents have less leisure time vis-à-vis young adults. Shortage of leisure resources and poor recreation venue management have created critical participation barriers. Residents prefer conveniently located and semiprivate neighborhood gardens embedded within residential developments rather than public sites. Young residents prefer to use urban parks, whereas middle-age and older residents prefer local sites. Cleanliness and other quality attributes are rated as key determinants for visiting green spaces. The results could inform future policies on leisure development in new Chinese cities.

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