# Effect of Space Configurational Attributes on Social Interactions in Urban Parks
## 2 Methodology
### Measurements of Social Interactions in the Park: Observation  
The observation method has been widely used for measuring people's behavior in urban public spaces [32]. Among numerous practices, the behavior mapping technique based on field observation has been suggested, as it is cost-effective and time-effective [33]. Before field observation, a clear definition or classification of human behaviors is needed. The physical distance based classification method has been widely used, as suggested by [PERSON] [34]. In this method, the distance between two people was used to categorize social relationships into four groups, including intimate distance (0 to 45 cm), personal distance (46 cm to 1.3 m), social distance (1.31 to 3.75 m), and public distance (>3.75 m). For activities that comprised more than two people, the average distance within a group was suggested by [PERSON] and [PERSON] for social interaction classification in urban open spaces [35]. Three social relationship types were identified, including: (1) intimate (intimate pair), (2) personal (intimate group), and social (social group). The physical distance- based classification method is applicable for analyzing static social relationships. However, the physical distances between people were constantly changing for some social interactions, in activities such as playing and dancing, for instance. The measurements of physical distance and classifications through videotape could be rather difficult and inaccurate, especially if the physical distances were quite small.  
Instead of measuring the physical distances, the recognition of interaction types was carried out by examining the personal behaviors collected during the observations in this study. The social interactions observed in the parks were classified into two categories: (1) personal groups and (2) social groups. Personal interaction behaviors, including kissing, touching, and hugging were used as signs of personal groups, and included relationships such as lovers, friends, and families. The social groups were identified as a group of people without personal interaction behaviors. Most of the social groups involved cultural and physical activities, for instance, dancing and singing. The number of people involved in the social interactions during the observation was counted as the measure of interaction activity intensity.  
To avoid the impact of the weather conditions on social activity, the field survey was conducted on continuously sunny days in November 2020. Meanwhile, to represent the most common weather conditions of the whole year, the temperature during the survey was approximately equal to the average temperature of the whole year in Beijing.  
Figure 1: Zizhuyuan Park (**a**) and Rendinghu Park (**b**) in Beijing, China.  
The observation of social interactions in urban parks was carried out in November 2020. Previous studies have indicated that the type and duration time of activities depended on the space type [35; 36]. Therefore, in this study, the accessible spaces in the parks were first classified into two categories: pathways and activity zones linked by pathways (plaza or playground). A pathway between two intersections or an activity zone linked by pathway was considered as one analysis unit in further observation and spatial characteristic analysis. For each observation unit, a five-minute videotape was recorded for further behavior analysis during one of the observation processes. The same observation process was carried out four times a day in each park (7 AM, 10 AM, 3 PM, and 5 PM). Each park was measured for two days, and measurement included a weekday and a weekend.