Causal Effects of Neighborhood Park Development on Urban Vibrancy Using Mobile Phone Location Data

Causal Effects of Neighborhood Park Development on Urban Vibrancy Using Mobile Phone Location Data | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Causal Effects of Neighborhood Park Development on Urban Vibrancy Using Mobile Phone Location Data Keito Yamaguchi, Xueqing Bo, Shintaro Terabe, Hideki Yaginuma, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8680646/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 15 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In recent years, many metropolitan areas have faced declining opportunities for social interaction and reduced local vitality owing to changes in population structure and the uneven distribution of urban functions. Accordingly, the interest in the role of public spaces has increased, particularly in the creation of walkable urban environments. Urban parks have the potential to influence local vibrancy by encouraging everyday staying activities and pedestrian movement. However, their causal effects have not been sufficiently clarified. This study examined the impact of neighborhood park distribution on local vibrancy in station catchment areas within the Tokyo metropolitan region using statistical causal inference methods. Station-catchment areas are defined as walkable zones surrounding railway stations that reflect daily activities. Pedestrian flow, child population, and annual retail sales were used as the indicators. Propensity score methods were used to ensure comparability between the treatment and control groups. The results indicate that the presence of neighborhood parks has positive effects on pedestrian flow among workers and the child population, whereas no statistically significant effects are observed for annual retail sales or other indicators. These findings suggest that neighborhood parks may contribute to attracting households with children and promote walking among workers. neighborhood park station catchment area urban vibrancy propensity score matching (PSM) Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 23 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 17 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 15 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 15 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 09 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 02 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 25 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 18 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 18 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8680646","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":612272288,"identity":"53dd13ad-964b-4832-9037-45a9e06cfcd5","order_by":0,"name":"Keito 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