Assessment of Accessibility and Inclusive Equity of Urban Parks for Age-Friendly City Planning: A Case Study of the Seven Administrative Wards of Fukuoka City, Japan

Japan is one of the countries experiencing the most rapid population aging in the world, with the proportion of adults aged 65 and over already exceeding 29% and continuing to increase. Accordingly, Japan is widely considered to have entered a super-aged society. Although older adults are often regarded as a socially vulnerable group, previous studies indicate that they constitute a major user group of urban parks. For those residing in welfare facilities, access to nearby parks may depend on public transportation, particularly when independent use of private vehicles is limited. However, studies examining the physical and spatial relationships between urban parks and older adult welfare facilities remain limited, and research evaluating the equity of urban park accessibility from the perspective of older adults is still scarce. This study therefore evaluates urban park accessibility and spatial equity through an integrated assessment of spatial proximity and coverage equity across the seven administrative wards of Fukuoka City, Japan. Building on a preliminary comparison of Nishi-ku and Chuo-ku, the analysis is expanded to all seven wards to examine whether the observed urban–suburban disparity persists citywide. Methodologically, urban park equity is assessed through three analytical dimensions: park provision for the older population, spatial proximity between older adult welfare facilities and urban parks, and bus-stop coverage of both parks and welfare facilities. These dimensions are operationalized into four indicators and normalized to a 0–100 scale using min–max normalization to compare the seven wards and the central urban, peripheral, and suburban areas. The study seeks to provide empirical policy implications for a more equitable distribution of urban park resources and improved accessibility for older adults. The results showed that peripheral and suburban areas had higher proportions of older residents but lower park area per older resident, lower spatial proximity between urban parks and older adult welfare facilities, and lower bus-stop coverage of older adult welfare facilities than the central urban area. These findings reveal spatial inequities in urban park accessibility for older adults and highlight the need to strengthen connections among welfare facilities, parks, and bus stops in peripheral and suburban areas.