  COVID-19 significantly has changed the lifestyle in the urban areas. Urban
parks reemerged as a savior of leisure activities and social joints under
strict social-distancing measures. Thus, there have been significant changes in
the thresholds of service distances of urban parks: People have become more
willing to visit parks in farther areas. This paper aims to examine the
difference between before and after the COVID-19 pandemic by applying a gravity
model. We examine variations in the service areas of urban parks, dependig on
the accessibility and design components of the park, using a dataset consisting
of the park visitor's 'origin (home)' and 'destination (park)'. This LBD
(Location-based Big Data) provides the home location of the urban park visitor.
The data was constructed by SK Telecom, using individual smartphone signal data
on a daily basis. Adjusted coefficients are estimated by OLS(ordinary least
squares) with cluster-robust standard errors to compare the difference between
2019 and 2020. Contrary to a common belief, the transit accessibility of the
park plays a more significant role than the physical traits of each parks.
Accessibility itself determines a lot of the threshold distance of the park
visit. While previous studies have identified the factors influencing the
reaching distance of park services, this study also attempts to determine how
the effects of the factors have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As proven
in this study, the marginal effects of those factors vary before and after the
pandemic. By identifying the factors that determine the distance to visit in
urban parks, it is possible to see which factors should be more focused on in
planning small parks for residents in the neighborhood or large parks for more
visitors from the entire region.
