Urban green space for health and well-being: developing an ‘affordances’ framework for planning and design

The quality of life in our cities critically depends on the intelligent planning and shaping of urban living space, in particular urban nature. By providing a wide range of ecosystem services (ES), urban nature essentially contributes to the well-being of city dwellers and plays a major role in avoiding common diseases through its positive impact on physical and mental health. Health is one of the most important factors underlying human welfare and is, thus, vital to sustainable development. The ES of urban green space provide other social-cultural functions alongside public health, for example by fostering environmental justice and citizenship participation. Thus, they should always be considered when searching for solutions to urban problems. The aim of this research was to determine the impact of green areas in three selected cities on the health and well-being of people by self-reporting of green areas’ visitors. To this end, we posed the research question: which types and characteristics of urban green space are most appreciated by city dwellers? Based on our findings, we have drawn up recommendations for practices to promote better living conditions. We have also pinpointed obstacles to and opportunities for leisure time activities as well as ways of supporting the public health of citizens.

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The Relationship between Social Cohesion and Urban Green Space: An Avenue for Health Promotion

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16030452 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. 452 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Viniece Jennings ◽

Omoshalewa Bamkole

Keyword(s):

Social Cohesion ◽

Psychological Health ◽

Green Space ◽

Well Being ◽

Urban Green Space ◽

Green Spaces ◽

Urban Green ◽

Urban Green Spaces ◽

The Relationship ◽

Health And Well Being

Social cohesion involves the interpersonal dynamics and sense of connection among people. Increased social cohesion can be associated with various physical and psychological health benefits. The presence of urban green spaces can encourage positive social interactions that cultivate social cohesion in ways that enhance health and well-being. Urban green spaces have also been linked to positive health behaviors and outcomes including increased physical activity and social engagement. Understanding the relationship between social cohesion and urban green space is important for informing holistic approaches to health. In this article, we discuss how positive interactions in urban green space can catalyze social cohesion, social capital and critical health-promoting behaviors that may enhance psychological health and well-being. We also summarize the strengths and limitations of previous studies and suggest directions for future research.

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Gender Disparity in Perceived Urban Green Space and Subjective Health and Well-Being in China: Implications for Sustainable Urban Greening

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su122410538 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (24) ◽

pp. 10538

Author(s):

Xueli Li ◽

Lee Liu ◽

Zhenguo Zhang ◽

Wenzhong Zhang ◽

Dazhi Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Green Space ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Health ◽

Urban Green Space ◽

Family Factors ◽

Interactive Effects ◽

Urban Greening ◽

Urban Green ◽

Family Variables ◽

Health And Well Being

It is generally agreed that green space has a positive effect on the health and well-being of urban residents. A number of papers have studied the relationship between green space and various sociodemographic characteristics; however, little is known about how perceptions of green space affect health and well-being differently between men and women. Such knowledge is significant for informing policy makers in designing urban green space to benefit the health and well-being of all people. In addition, urban greening has rarely been studied in the context of the UN 2030 Agenda and the UN New Urban Agenda. This study examines gender disparities in perceived green space and health and well-being, the effect of perceived green space, personal, and family variables on subjective health and well-being, and the interactive effects of perceived green space, personal, and family variables on health and well-being. The analyses were based on a survey of 9325 participants in 40 Chinese cities, using the Geographical Detector method. The results suggest that men tend to have a higher perception of green space but lower subjective health and well-being than women. Compared to health, well-being is more affected by perception of urban green space and personal and family factors. Perception of urban green space has a higher effect on men’s health and well-being than women’s. Women’s health and well-being tends to be more affected by personal and family factors than men’s. There are clear interactive effects of perceived green space, personal, and family variables on health and well-being. The combined effect is greater than the sum of individual effects on health and well-being, suggesting complexity in sustainable urban green space development with attention to gender equality in the context of the UN Agendas for sustainable development.

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Research on public health and well-being associated to the vegetation configuration of urban green space, a case study of Shanghai, China

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening ◽

10.1016/j.ufug.2021.126990 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 59 ◽

pp. 126990

Author(s):

Hongyu Du ◽

Fengqi Zhou ◽

Yongli Cai ◽

Chunlan Li ◽

Yanqing Xu

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Green Space ◽

Well Being ◽

Urban Green Space ◽

Urban Green ◽

Health And Well Being

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Shades of Green: Measuring the Ecology of Urban Green Space in the Context of Human Health and Well-Being

Nature and Culture ◽

10.3167/nc.2010.050307 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 338-363 ◽

Cited By ~ 82

Author(s):

Anna Jorgensen ◽

Paul H. Gobster

Keyword(s):

Human Health ◽

Green Space ◽

Research Priorities ◽

Well Being ◽

Research Literature ◽

Urban Green Space ◽

Urban Green ◽

Urban Restoration ◽

Space Concepts ◽

Health And Well Being

In this paper we review and analyze the recent research literature on urban green space and human health and well-being, with an emphasis on studies that attempt to measure biodiversity and other green space concepts relevant to urban ecological restoration. We first conduct a broad scale assessment of the literature to identify typologies of urban green space and human health and well-being measures, and use a research mapping exercise to detect research priorities and gaps. We then provide a more in-depth assessment of selected studies that use diverse and innovative approaches to measuring the more ecological aspects of urban green space and we evaluate the utility of these approaches in developing urban restoration principles and practices that are responsive to both human and ecological values.

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Evaluation of the Equity and Regional Management of Some Urban Green Space Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Main Urban Area of Xi’an City

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12070813 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 813

Author(s):

Hui Dang ◽

Jing Li ◽

Yumeng Zhang ◽

Zixiang Zhou

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Green Space ◽

Well Being ◽

Urban Green Space ◽

Green Spaces ◽

Deposition Flux ◽

Urban Green ◽

Xi’An City

Urban green spaces can provide many types of ecosystem services for residents. An imbalance in the pattern of green spaces leads to an inequality of the benefits of such spaces. Given the current situation of environmental problems and the basic geographical conditions of Xi’an City, this study evaluated and mapped four kinds of ecosystem services from the perspective of equity: biodiversity, carbon sequestration, air purification, and climate regulation. Regionalization with dynamically constrained agglomerative clustering and partitioning (REDCAP) was used to obtain the partition groups of ecosystem services. The results indicate that first, the complexity of the urban green space community is low, and the level of biodiversity needs to be improved. The dry deposition flux of particulate matter (PM2.5) decreases from north to south, and green spaces enhance the adsorption of PM2.5. Carbon sequestration in the south and east is higher than that in the north and west, respectively. The average surface temperature in green spaces is lower than that in other urban areas. Second, urban green space resources in the study area are unevenly distributed. Therefore, ecosystem services in different areas are inequitable. Finally, based on the regionalization of integrated ecosystem services, an ecosystem services cluster was developed. This included 913 grid spaces, 12 partitions, and 5 clusters, which can provide a reference for distinct levels of ecosystem services management. This can assist urban managers who can use these indicators of ecosystem service levels for planning and guiding the overall development pattern of green spaces. The benefits would be a maximization of the ecological functions of green spaces, an improvement of the sustainable development of the city, and an improvement of people’s well-being.

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