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As high-capacity public transit, metros efficiently link urban green spaces, extend residents’ travel ranges and broaden park services through independent, equitable mobility. Yet targeted research on how metros improve park access remains limited. Given parks’ social and ecological value, understanding metro – park relationships are vital, especially for persons with reduced mobility (PRM). We propose a mixed-method framework combining network analysis with utility-based models to quantify metro accessibility of parks and compare outcomes for the general population and PRM. The framework integrates subjective and objective determinants of travel, capturing how preferences shape accessibility. Results show that metro service substantially increases park accessibility and alleviates residential – park spatial mismatch around metro corridors, particularly in dense urban cores. For PRM, however, benefits are constrained by the location and availability of barrier-free station exits, producing longer, more complex routes and lower efficiency. We also find that walkable station-area connections influence park accessibility more than in-vehicle metro time, and that crowding markedly reduces willingness to travel. This study advances measurement of park accessibility and offers guidance for metro and park planning to support sustainable development and equitable access.
Li et al. (Fri,) studied this question.