Impact of a riverside accessibility intervention on use, physical activity, and wellbeing: A mixed methods pre-post evaluation

•Regeneration of natural urban areas might improve human’s health and well-being.•We observed an overall increase in users of an urban riverside after renovation.•The proportion of females, adults, kids, and non-Caucasian population increased.•We observed an increase of sedentary and moderately active users in the renovated area.•Locals perceived the river to be beneficial for their health and well-being. Access to natural outdoor environments can promote physical activity, social cohesion, and improved psychological well-being. In 2016, an urban riverside regeneration project to facilitate access to the riverbank for pedestrians and cyclists was conducted in Barcelona (Spain). We aim to evaluate its effect in terms of changes in use and physical activity of users, and changes in local’s use and perception of the urban riverside, and their corresponding self-perceived health and well-being. We conducted systematic observations, before and after the intervention, using the System for Observing Parks and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) to quantify the use and physical activity levels of users and compared them over time. Qualitative assessment consisted of semi-structured face-to-face interviews with the locals. We observed a 25% increase in users of the renovated area of the river after the intervention. There was an increase in sedentary users and those engaged in moderate levels of physical activity [7.7% vs. 12.0% sedentary users, and 66.9% vs. 68.7% moderately active users before and after the intervention respectively, p