The impacts of green spaces on urban well-being in rapidly urbanized city of Kuala Lumpur: urban inhabitants’ preferences and perceptions

Urban green spaces are vital for fostering social connections, community participation, and overall human well-being, which play a significant role in shaping the quality of urban well-being. This aims to investigate urban inhabitants’ preferences and perceptions in rapidly urbanized city of Kuala Lumpur. Quantitative method was used to achieve the research aims, where 160 visitors of three urban parks in Kuala Lumpur were involved. The three parks include KLCC Park, Perdana Botanical Garden and Taman Tugu. The results revealed that beauty of the landscape is the most preferred by the visitors. Besides, a well-managed, safe, and easily accessible parks are preferred over parks that offer wide spaces and a variety of activities. The results also demonstrated that unpleasant smell, dust pollution, illegal activities in the park and noise pollution has major impacts to the parks’ surrounding that give discomfort to the visitors. This study underscores the importance of considering people's perceptions in creating and organizing urban public areas. To design inclusive, lively, and sustainable urban green spaces that enhance the overall urban environment and contribute to urban inhabitants’ well-being, landscape architects and urban planners must understand the diverse viewpoints and experiences of the visitors.