scholarly journals IMPACT MECHANISM OF URBAN GREEN SPACES IN PROMOTING PUBLIC HEALTH: <strong>THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND INSPIRATION FOR PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES</strong>

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Jinguang ZHANG ◽  
Zhaowu YU ◽  
Bing ZHAO
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Impact Mechanism ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Practical Experiences

scholarly journals Enhanced threat of tick‐borne infections within cities? Assessing public health risks due to ticks in urban green spaces in Helsinki, Finland

2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (7) ◽  
pp. 823-839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jani Jukka Sormunen ◽  
Niko Kulha ◽  
Tero Klemola ◽  
Satu Mäkelä ◽  
Ella‐Maria Vesilahti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Public Health Risks

scholarly journals Vertical Stratification in Urban Green Space Aerobiomes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jake M. Robinson ◽  
Christian Cando-Dumancela ◽  
Craig Liddicoat ◽  
Philip Weinstein ◽  
Ross Cameron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Vertical Stratification ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Compositional Diversity

AbstractExposure to a diverse environmental microbiome is thought to play an important role in ‘educating’ the immune system and facilitating competitive exclusion of pathogens to maintain human health. Vegetation and soil are known to be key sources of airborne microbiota––the aerobiome. Only a limited number of studies have attempted to characterise the dynamics of the aerobiome, and no studies to date have investigated these dynamics from a vertical perspective simulating human exposure. Studies of pollution and allergenic pollen show vertical stratification at various scales, and present an expectation that such vertical stratification may also be present in the aerobiome. Such stratification could have important implications for public health and for the design, engineering and management of urban green spaces. For example, do children receive the same exposure to airborne microbiota as taller adults, and what are the downstream implications for health? In this study, we combine an innovative columnar sampling method at soil level, 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 m together with high-throughput sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene to assess whether significant vertical stratification of the aerobiome occurred in a parkland habitat in Adelaide, South Australia. Our results provide evidence of vertical stratification in both alpha and beta (compositional) diversity of airborne bacterial communities, with diversity increasing roughly with height. We also found significant vertical stratification in known pathogenic and beneficial bacterial taxa, suggesting potentially different exposure attributes between adults and children. These results could have important implications for public health and urban planning, potentially informing ways to optimise the design and management of health-promoting urban green spaces.

Ecological Deviance: The Botanical Politics of Public-Sex Environments in Parks

2021 ◽  
pp. 251484862110453
Author(s):  
Zachary Nowak ◽  
Kari Roynesdal
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Political Ecology ◽  
Environmental History ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Public Sex

The literature on public sex environments spans a number of disciplines, including public health, queer geography, and urban planning. Ethnographic, spatial, and epidemiological approaches have predominated but heretofore few researchers have dedicated much attention to the actual plants that provide cover for sex as well as other non-conformist activity in urban green spaces. We draw on recent work in environmental history and political ecology which include non-human organisms as crucial and possibly agentic members of dynamic assemblages. We examine the flora of three urban green spaces—and their landscape—and argue that botanical control of public sex environments has long been and still is largely an attempt to control supposedly deviant sexualities.

scholarly journals A Qualitative Analysis of UK Wetland Visitor Centres as a Health Resource

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 8629
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. Reeves ◽  
Conor H. D. John ◽  
Kevin A. Wood ◽  
Phoebe R. Maund
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Health Benefit ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Health Resource ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces

The health benefits associated with spending time in natural environments have been highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns and restrictions to safeguard public health have exacerbated the pre-existing mental health crisis and rise of non-communicable diseases. Thus, the importance of nature as a health resource has been elevated, hastening calls for a better understanding of how health benefits might differ across user groups and nature provisions. In this regard, urban green spaces have become the greatest research focus; however, blue spaces, especially inland freshwater (e.g., wetlands), remain less studied. First-hand user experiences are also under-represented. This exploratory study examines the motivations and benefits of active wetland centre users in the UK, both during and after visits. Responses to three open-ended questions were collated online from 385 participants, and a qualitative content analysis was conducted based on an existing taxonomy from users of urban green spaces. The results showed strong motivations to visit due to the biodiversity at the site (mainly the birdlife), while less tangible nature (e.g., fresh air) and amenities were also important. In contrast to other studies on natural environments, physical activity was a less influential motivation. Salient derived effects included positive and intensely positive emotions, relaxation and mental restoration. After visits to wetland centres, feelings of vitality and satisfaction were the most prominent effects that emerged. For decision-makers looking to leverage inland blue spaces for public health benefit, our results highlight the broad range and relative prominence of the reasons for use and the associated perceived health benefits derived by users of UK wetland centres. They highlight how biodiversity, abiotic nature and good amenities are important qualities to consider when planning, managing and encouraging people to use natural environments for health benefit, qualities that may also provide important environmental co-benefits.

scholarly journals The Socioeconomic Welfare of Urban Green Areas and Parks; A Literature Review of Available Evidence

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7863
Author(s):  
Antonios Kolimenakis ◽  
Alexandra D. Solomou ◽  
Nikolaos Proutsos ◽  
Evangelia V. Avramidou ◽  
Evangelia Korakaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Urban Policy ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Exclusion Criteria ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Green Areas ◽  
Green Areas

Urban green areas present a lucid example for the harmonious co-existence of the artificial and natural environments best illustrated by their interdependence and interconnection in urban spaces. Urban green areas are essential for the health and wellbeing of citizens. The present study aimed to investigate those multiple benefits for citizens that arise through the existence of urban green areas, as well as important policy dimensions that should be considered when designing the expansion of urban green spaces in urban development. The study was based on a literature review to examine for available evidence on the benefit levels derived by the existence of urban green areas. An extended literature review was followed by a structured review, based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, which partly followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The search was conducted in two databases, and a total of 1674 articles and abstracts were identified through the database searches. After removing 114 duplicates, 1560 records were initially screened based on title and abstract. Following inclusion and exclusion criteria, 14 articles were incorporated in the structured review and a total of 47 in the extended review. The extended literature review identified 33 additional articles examining aspects of benefits that did not fall under the pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria used in the structured review, such as health benefits and other social parameters associated with urban green spaces. The selected studies were allocated in five principal groups according to study types: three of the them consisted of studies employing “willingness to pay” (WTP) methods, five were based on property values, two studies assigned monetary values, while another two assigned CO2 values, and, finally, two studies were based on qualitative criteria. The results indicated benefits to citizens and increased welfare levels gained by the existence of urban green areas. The conducted review revealed a number of findings and recommendations that could direct future research and urban policy. Those hints could assist local authorities as well as stakeholders in order to measure and assess the benefits of green spaces and urban parks and promote measures and programs to assist their further deployment.

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