Relationships between students’ demographic characteristics,perceived naturalness and patterns of use associated with campus green space,and self-rated restoration and health

There is increasing awareness of the benefits of campus green space in promoting student's health. However, information on how campus green spaces benefit students’ health is insufficient or limited to guide the planning or management process. As a result, the present study collected 897 valid responses to examine the differences in campus green space usage patterns among students with varying individual characteristics and to assess the interrelationships between students’ socio-demographic characteristics, perceived naturalness, patterns of use, and self-rated restoration and health using a structural equation model. The findings indicated that there were gender disparities in the presence of companions and frequency of use of campus green space, as well as discipline differences in companion presence. Additionally, gender, age, and discipline had distinct associations with perceived naturalness, patterns of use and self-rated restoration and health. Perceived naturalness positively contribute to patterns of use and self-rated restoration and health, while the frequency of use positively contributed to self-rated restoration and health. Moreover, students’ perceived health can be improved in part through the mediating effect of the self-rated restoration. The study findings demonstrated how campus green spaces benefit students’ health and provided valuable information for campus green space managers and designers. Therefore, we propose that presenting diverse natural elements, manipulating them in natural forms, providing feelings of wildness or friendliness, and eatablishing vast, high-quality, and diverse green spaces to promote students’ health.     

Between Big Ideas and Daily Realities – The roles and perspectives of Danish municipal green space managers on public involvement in green space maintenance

Public involvement (PI) in green space maintenance activities has increased during the past decades. The various (potential) benefits of PI have been recognised. Denmark, however, has no established tradition for such activities, despite its well-established tradition of volunteering. Local authorities have traditionally been the sovereign entity within public green space management, reflecting a hierarchical mode of governance. Yet, an increased call for new forms of local democracy and for new governance modes has resulted in growing attention for PI practices. Hence more knowledge is needed, for example on ongoing changes in governance arrangements regarding municipal green space.This paper thus aims to gain insight into (a) current governance arrangements with respect to municipal green space maintenance as well as temporal changes in these and (b) the consequences of the former for governmental actors and municipal managers in particular. An analytical framework based on governance theory and the Policy Arrangement Approach was developed to meet these aims. Data was collected by means of selected semi-structured interviews with green space managers from ten Danish municipalities.Findings show that green space PI occurred in all ten municipalities and thus that governance arrangements had started to include non-government actors, signalling a possible shift to co-governance from more common hierarchical governance modes. Green space managers felt themselves often ill-prepared for new governance arrangements and PI, e.g. in terms of lack of training and expertise. They based themselves strongly on their own experiences and preferences. More responsibility had been allocated to citizens, but often only to a select group of those who were already organised and/or had good connections with local authorities (i.e. closed co-governance). Green space managers listed a number of benefits of PI, generally adhering to the prevailing discourse of more co-governance. However, they also noted a number of challenges, including discrepancies between current maintenance practices and more PI. These, as well as a wider understanding of changing governance arrangements in green space management and maintenance, need to be addressed in future research.     

Relation between visitors’ behaviour and characteristics of green spaces in the city of Granada,south-eastern Spain

This paper examines the relation between visitor behaviour and certain features of a number of major green spaces in the city of Granada, south-eastern Spain, focussing on key urban, ecological and landscape-related issues. Information on user profiles and numbers, the various uses made of these areas, their design, plant species richness and local urban and sociological background, was collected by means of in situ observation in a total of ten urban green spaces with surface areas of over 5000 m². Findings indicated that these spaces were used largely for purposes directly related to well-being: recreational and sporting activities, socialising, or simply relaxing. Interestingly, the most common activities in each space were governed by features intrinsic to the space itself: accessibility, design, maintenance and plant richness and distribution, all of which affected the health-related attributes and aesthetic value of the space. The study also highlighted a number of serious deficiencies in certain green spaces, which will need to be addressed in future action plans and replanning projects as an essential step in ensuring that they meet the real needs and expectations of the target population. The information provided by this research may prove particularly valuable for improving the systemic functions of green spaces in Mediterranean cities sharing similar bioclimatic and sociological features, and for ensuring that they fulfil the role assigned to green spaces in sustainable cities.     

Assessment and optimization of green space for urban transformation in resources-based city – A case study of Lengshuijiang city,China

Urbanization in China has changed gradually from production-oriented to consumption-oriented in recent years. Comfort and accessibility of green infrastructures effect the rate of urbanization and transformation. A well designed urban green space system is an essential part of the urbanization process. In this paper, the urban green space of Lengshuijiang city was assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively using data of field survey and high resolution remote sensing. In the study area, green space coverage was 37.14%, green space percentage was 33.45% and per capita park green space was 16.25 m². The high green space coverage suggested that there were ample potentials for further urban transformation. Within a 30 min service radius of existing green space, total service area was 204.49 ha, which accounted for 16.26% of the study area. A high proportion of the green space was made up of urban parks which were unevenly distributed across the study area. A green space optimization strategy, aimed at improving green space quality and accessibility, was proposed. After optimization, total service areas within the 30 min service radius will increase to 492 ha (39.12%), an increase of 22.86%. Our study demonstrated that combining qualitative and quantitative methods is an effective and reliable way for green space assessment and reliable and can be used for urban green space planning and management for small resource-based cities like Lengshuijiang in its process of urban transformation.     

Urban green space interaction and wellbeing – investigating the experience of international students in Berlin during the first COVID-19 lockdown

This qualitative study explores the topic of mental health/wellbeing with reference to exposure to urban green space (UGS). It builds on previous research, which has highlighted the potential for green space interaction for supporting positive emotional and mental wellbeing, particularly in times of stress and uncertainty. Using this basis, the paper explores whether UGS interaction also helped to mitigate the negative mental health impacts brought about by the first COVID-19 lockdown. The specific focus is on students and expatriates living in Berlin, Germany as this population groupbecame increasingly vulnerable during this time as a result of uncertainty and restrictions in their daily lives brought about the enforced lockdown measures. More specifically, this paper investigates how a change in their daily routines created opportunities to interact with and experience UGS differently and how their emotional response and perception towards these spaces changed. Semi-structured interviews allowed for stories, experiences and emotions to unfold, which revealed that the participants’ gained an appreciation for the potential of UGS to support their wellbeing during a stressful and isolating time. UGS interaction also allowed them to form tangible memories of summer 2020 as it provided a safe arena for them to maintain social contact with friends outdoors, or to escape their home environment and experience respite and relaxation in a natural setting. The findings demonstrate that for this sub-group of the population UGS became a reliable constant and a valuable public health resource, which may also help to mitigate the long-term adverse mental health impacts of the pandemic.     

The role of Aşiyan Cemetery (İstanbul) as a green urban space from an ecological perspective and its importance in urban plant diversity

İstanbul is one of the fast growing and historical cities in the world, and has many old cemeteries which have belonged to various empires. This study includes the first floristic and plant use results from one of these historical cemeteries (the Aşiyan Cemetery). Vascular plants were collected from the cemetery in order to elaborate plant diversity. A total of 280 plant species was identified from an area of 29.1 decares. 139 of them are spontaneously wild growing taxa in the cemetery and the rest are cultivated on the graves. While the ratio of the area of the cemetery to the area of İstanbul is 0.1%, the cemetery includes 5.5% of the native plants of İstanbul. The steep sloped and stony parts of the cemetery have a native macchia vegetation consisting of Quercus coccifera L., Laurus nobilis L., Pistacia terebinthus L., Phillyrea latifolia L., Jasminum fruticans L., Rhamnus alaternus L., Ephedra foeminea Forssk., Osyris alba L. One of the most important results is the determination of the natural distribution of Rhamnus alaternus, Clematis flammula L. and Ephedra foeminea. This area is a refuge for these three species and the first native record area for R.alaternus in İstanbul. As a conclusion, in spite of covering a small area, the Aşiyan Cemetery has a rich native and horticultural flora, and it is a refuge for three rare species, therefore the cemetery has an important role in urban plant diversity conservation.     

Perceived access to recreational/green areas as an effect modifier of the relationship between health and neighbourhood noise/air quality: Results from the 3rd European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS, 2011–2012)

The present study tests the hypothesis that better access to recreational/green areas modifies the adverse effects of neighbourhood noise and air quality on health. We re-analysed the cross-national representative sample of the 3rd European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) (2011–2012). Data were available on self-rated health, neighbourhood noise, air quality, access to recreational/green areas, and other sociodemographic and neighbourhood covariates. The substantive analyses were based on weighted logistic regression with clustered standard errors. Overall, reporting major neighbourhood problems with noise and air quality was associated with higher risk for poor self-rated health, and this risk was higher among participants not using recreational/green areas in their neighbourhood or reporting a difficult access to those areas. There was a statistically significant effect modification across some exposure − access scenarios, but it was clearer for air quality than it was for noise. Thus, this exploratory study sets the basis for future research on the subject matter.