Where do the children play? An objective analysis of children’s use of green space

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Freeman ◽  
Ryan Gage ◽  
Tim Chambers ◽  
Paul Blaschke ◽  
Hera Cook ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Leisure Time ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Objective Assessment ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Objective Analysis ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Wearable Cameras ◽  
Objective Research

Summary Green space is important for health, yet, objective research on children’s use of green space is sparse. This study aimed to objectively assess children’s use of green space in both public and private settings during their summer leisure time, using wearable cameras. Images from cameras worn by 74 children were analysed for green space use over 4 days. Children spent an average of ∼1/10 h of leisure time in green space in the summer months, were physically active 68%, and with others 85%, of the time. Green spaces are important places for children’s health because they are places they frequent and places where they are physically active and socialize. Wearable cameras provide an effective method for objective assessment of green space use.

How are characteristics of urban green space related to levels of physical activity: Examining the links

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1091-1101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Akpinar ◽  
Murat Cankurt
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
General Population ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
The City ◽  
Exercise Equipment

This study investigates the associations between characteristics of urban green spaces and frequency and duration of self-reported physical activity in the city of Aydın, Turkey. Data were collected through a survey with 420 participants. We analysed the associations between characteristics of urban green spaces and frequency and duration of general population’ physical activity and physical activity of physically active people with multivariate linear regression while controlling for sex, age, marital status, education level, occupation and household income level. Results showed that for the general population, short distance to urban green spaces, many trees, exercise equipment and picnic areas were positively associated with frequency of physical activity, while barbecue and fire places negatively associated with duration of physical activity. For physically active people, many trees, soccer and basketball fields were positively associated with their frequency of physical activity, but water features were negatively correlated with frequency of physical activity. In regard to duration of physical activity for physically active people, findings showed lawn and exercise equipment were positively correlated with duration of physical activity, while water features, barbecue and fire places were negatively correlated with duration of physical activity. The findings indicate that levels of physical activity in urban green spaces could be promoted with many trees, exercise equipment, picnic areas and lawn. However, causal relationship needs to be conducted with intervention or longitudinal studies.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal Patterns of the Use of Green Space by White-Collar Workers in Chinese Cities: A Study in Shenzhen

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1006
Author(s):  
Xiaohuan Xie ◽  
Hanzhi Zhou ◽  
Zhonghua Gou ◽  
Ming Yi
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Central Business District ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Space Use ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Time Dimension ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
White Collar Workers

White-collar workers, with tremendous work pressure, excessive working hours, and poor physical condition, need green spaces not only to have physical exercise and social gatherings, but also to become closer to nature and to relieve stress for their mental health. In China, the 996 office schedule, working from 09:00 to 17:00 six days a week, has become popular in the workplace; under such high-intensity work and pressure, white-collar workers have limited time to access green space for leisure, and their use of green space for health benefits is compromised. This study selected Shenzhen Futian Central Business District to find out the green space use patterns and preferences of white-collar workers based on GPS data and questionnaire surveys. In addition, the value of green exposure in the time dimension was calculated according to individuals’ actual behaviors. Based on cluster analysis, this study summarized the typical green space use patterns of three groups of white-collar workers, which reflects the hidden inequity of white-collar groups who are subjected to varying degrees of spatiotemporal constraints in using green space. This paper puts forward three directions for the optimization of green space allocation, functional facilities, and improved walkability in employment-intensive urban areas. The results provide certain guiding significance for alleviating the mismatch of time and space in green space enjoyment and for improving the spatiotemporal inclusiveness of green spaces in urban central business districts.

scholarly journals Comparative analysis of Nature Park Shumen Plateau and Shumen City Park as green spaces

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-66
Author(s):  
Teodora Koynova
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Green Area ◽  
Green Areas ◽  
Nature Park ◽  
The Individual ◽  
City Park

Abstract The green areas play a significant role in keeping the urban population healthy. Consequently, there has been a growing interest in the urban and peri-urban parks lately. The Nature Park Shumen plateau and Shumen City Park are an important green area for residents of Shumen city. The aim of this study was to make comparative analysis of the qualities of the Nature Park Shumen Plateau and the Shumen City Park as green spaces. For quality assessment 10 criteria were used. The criteria were grouped in four categories - Green space placement, Green space use, Environment and Biodiversity. Five-point Likert scale was used to determine satisfaction with each of the 10 criteria. Nine experts did the evaluation of the criteria. In category “Green space placement”, the Nature Park Shumen Plateau and the Shumen City Park had very similar evaluations however there were big differences in the individual criteria. According to the category “Green space use, both parks showed rather similar results. Concerning the category „Environment”, the Nature Park Shumen Plateau received slightly higher assessment and the category “Biodiversity” was ranked as twice higher. The results show that the Nature Park Shumen Plateau and the Shumen City Park possess good quality as a green area, as the Nature Park Shumen Plateau was higher assessed compared to the Shumen City Park.

scholarly journals Attitudes and Behaviors toward the Use of Public and Private Green Space during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1085
Author(s):  
Mohammad Reza Khalilnezhad ◽  
Francesca Ugolini ◽  
Luciano Massetti
Keyword(s):  
Green Space ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Landscape Planning ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Connection To Nature ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Positive Feelings

This paper reports the results of an exploratory study carried out in Birjand, Iran, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was to explore the behavioral change in the use and the motivation to visit a green space (public or private) during the pandemic as compared to the pre-pandemic period, the effect of green spaces (private and public) on users’ feelings, the relations between the extent to which the access to green spaces was missed, and characteristics of respondents and the place they live. A survey was carried out through an online questionnaire in winter 2020 and about 400 responses were collected. The results showed a decrease in visitation of public green spaces during the pandemic, and higher visitation of private green spaces such as gardens or courtyards by those with access. In addition, both public and private green spaces enhance positive feelings and decrease the negative ones. Respondents missed access to green spaces, especially when their visitation before the pandemic was high, and women missed them more than men. Therefore, private green spaces might represent an opportunity for psychological respite in time of a pandemic, but also for socialization. The study reports respondents’ useful suggestions for urban landscape planning for the city of Birjand that might also be useful for other cities in dry lands; improving the quality of green spaces beyond the quantity may play a role in enhancing the connection to nature in the time of a pandemic, with positive effects on mental health, and this can also can improve recreation opportunities and reduce inequalities.

scholarly journals 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 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Is Brief Exposure to Green Space in School the Best Option to Improve Attention in Children?

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7484
Author(s):  
Asier Anabitarte ◽  
Gonzalo García-Baquero ◽  
Ainara Andiarena ◽  
Nerea Lertxundi ◽  
Nerea Urbieta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
School Children ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Statistical Design ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Attention Network Test ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Gender Biases ◽  
Before And After

The positive effects of Green Spaces on health are thought to be achieved through the mechanisms of mitigation, instoration and restoration. One of the benefits of Green Spaces may be the restoration of attention and so the objective of this research is testing empirically whether exposure to a green environment improves attention in school children. For so doing, we first used a split-unit statistical design in each of four schools, then combined the primary results via meta-analysis. The Attention Network Test (ANT) was used to measure attention before and after exposure and a total of 167 seven-year-old students participated in the experiments. Overall, our experimental results do not support the hypothesis that students’ exposure to activities in green vs. grey spaces affected their performance in ANT. This was so despite the fact that neither age nor gender biases have been detected and despite that our experiments have been proved to be sufficiently statistically powerful. It would be advisable to consider air pollution and noise. We also recommend that participants attend the experiment with mental exhaustion to maximize the ability to detect significant changes.

Greenness and the Potential Resilience to Sexual Violence: “Your Neighborhood Is Being Neglected Because People Don’t Care. People With Power Don’t Care”

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110280
Author(s):  
Gibran C. Mancus ◽  
Andrea N. Cimino ◽  
Md Zabir Hasan ◽  
Jacquelyn C. Campbell ◽  
Phyllis Sharps ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Violent Crime ◽  
Green Space ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Community Resilience ◽  
The United States ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Traffic Density ◽  
Black Communities ◽  
Black Neighborhoods

There is increasing evidence that green space in communities reduces the risk of aggression and violence, and increases wellbeing. Positive associations between green space and resilience have been found among children, older adults and university students in the United States, China and Bulgaria. Little is known about these associations among predominately Black communities with structural disadvantage. This study explored the potential community resilience in predominately Black neighborhoods with elevated violent crime and different amounts of green space. This embedded mixed-methods study started with quantitative analysis of women who self-identified as “Black and/or African American.” We found inequality in environments, including the amount of green space, traffic density, vacant property, and violent crime. This led to 10 indepth interviews representing communities with elevated crime and different amounts of green space. Emergent coding of the first 3 interviews, a subset of the 98 in the quantitative analysis, led to a priori coding of barriers and facilitators to potential green space supported community resilience applied to the final 7 interview data. Barriers were a combination of the physical and social environment, including traffic patterns, vacant property, and crime. Facilitators included subjective qualities of green space. Green spaces drew people in through community building and promoting feelings of calmness. The transformation of vacant lots into green spaces by community members affords space for people to come together and build community. Green spaces, a modifiable factor, may serve to increase community resilience and decrease the risk of violence.

scholarly journals Socioeconomic Differences in Walking Time of Children and Adolescents to Public Green Spaces in Urban Areas—Results of the German Environmental Survey (2014–2017)

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2326
Author(s):  
Julia Rehling ◽  
Christiane Bunge ◽  
Julia Waldhauer ◽  
André Conrad
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Environmental Survey ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Public Green Space ◽  
Walking Time

Public green spaces have a high potential for a positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing, especially in urban areas. Studies on environmental justice indicate socially unequal access possibilities to urban green spaces. This article presents results on associations between individual socioeconomic position (SEP) and walking time from home to public green spaces in young people living in urban areas with more than 20,000 inhabitants in Germany. Data were derived from the German Environmental Survey for Children and Adolescents 2014–2017 (GerES V), the environmental module of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS Wave 2). The sample comprises 1149 participants aged 3 to 17 years. A total of 51.5% of the participants reach a public green space on foot within five and 72.8% within ten minutes from home. The lower the participant’s SEP, the longer the walking time. Logistic regression models controlling for age group, sex, migration background, and region of residence show that participants with a low SEP have a significantly higher risk (odds ratio = 1.98; 95% confidence interval: 1.31–2.99) of needing more than ten minutes to walk from home to a public green space than participants with a high SEP. GerES V data indicate that young people living in urban areas in Germany do not equally benefit from the health-promoting potential of green spaces, which is an important aspect of environmental health inequalities.

scholarly journals The Effects of Urban Natural Environments on Preference and Self-Reported Psychological Restoration of the Elderly

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 509
Author(s):  
Ling Qiu ◽  
Qujing Chen ◽  
Tian Gao
Keyword(s):  
Green Space ◽  
Environmental Design ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Photo Elicitation ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
The World ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Aging Populations

The world is facing the challenge of aging populations. Urban natural environments, including green spaces and blue spaces, have been demonstrated to have great benefits to the mental restoration of the elderly. However, the study of the specific characteristics of urban environments that are popular and the most restorative for the elderly is still lacking. Photo elicitation as visual stimuli was utilized to explore the differences in preference and psychological restoration of the elderly through the perception of the eight perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) in different types of urban environments. The results showed that: (1) The respondents had different perceptions of the eight PSDs in the different urban natural environments. Blue space and partly-closed green space were more preferred by the elderly, and also had more psychological restorative effects on the elderly. (2) There was no significant correlation between the number of highly perceived PSDs and preference, as well as between the number of highly perceived PSDs and psychological restoration. However, there was a significant correlation between preference and psychological restoration. (3) Partly-closed green space with more Serene and Refuge qualities, and blue space with more Serene, Refuge and Prospect properties were optimal characteristics for psychological restoration of the elderly. In addition, open green space with more Prospect, Serene and Social qualities, and closed green space with more Space, Refuge and less Nature properties could also increase psychological restoration of older adults. These findings can provide useful guidelines for restorative environmental design for the elderly in the future.

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