People with the least positive attitudes to green exercise derive most anxiolytic benefit from walking in green space

Green exercise elicits greater psychological benefits than urban exercise. We assessed the role of expectations, attitudes to green exercise, and trait anxiety on the anxiolytic effect of green exercise. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups to reduce order effects. One group completed a bout of green exercise followed by a bout of urban exercise and the second group vice-versa. Participants ( N = 22) completed 30-minutes of walking in both green and urban environments, with state anxiety assessed pre-, during- and post-activity. Measures of expectations, attitudes to green exercise, and trait anxiety were recorded at baseline. The findings suggest that green exercise does not elicit greater reductions in anxiety than urban exercise. However, a 30-minute walk in green space elicited greater improvements in state anxiety for participants with a lower positive attitude to green exercise(b = 5.14, 95% CI 0.48–9.80, p = 0.032). Attitudes to green exercise play a role in the anxiolytic effects of green exercise and should be considered when delivering green exercise interventions for mental health outcomes.     

Semi-natural vegetation and its relationship to designated urban green space at the landscape scale in Leeds, UK

The species composition of semi-natural vegetation in urban areas is influenced by a diversity of factors operating at a variety of spatial scales. This study investigates relationships at the landscape scale between species numbers of semi-natural plant communities and variations in the nature of designated urban green space. Species’ records were obtained from a survey of tetrads (2 km × 2 km) across a contiguous central area of built-up landscape and nearby satellite settlements in the metropolitan borough of Leeds, northern England. Plant species were categorised into natives, archaeophytes, neophytes, casuals and conservation-designated species. The type and extent of designated urban green space within a tetrad was determined using GIS. There was more built-up and designated green space area in the central urban area than in the satellite settlements. However, this difference was not reflected statistically significantly in plant category species’ numbers. Numbers of native species correlated positively with areas of green space designated for relatively high nature conservation value. Neophytes and casuals correlated positively with semi-natural green space lacking rare native species or high native species richness but designated principally for local community accessibility. The value of such spaces and the importance of their appropriate management, not only for community benefits like individual physical health and mental well-being, but also for overall urban plant biodiversity, is highlighted.     

The effect of nature and physical activity on emotions and attention while engaging in green exercise

Green exercise offers the synergistic benefits of both contact with nature and physical activity for humans. This study explored the relationship between nature, physical activity, and well-being, addressing a gap in the research (Hartig et al., 2014). This study further investigated whether and how nature, exercise, or a combination of both produces these benefits. Nature was quantified as the visible greenness rate to measure the continuum from natural to man-made, instead of using a dichotomization. Physical activity was walking and jogging, and the exercise level was quantified to measure the continuum from static to vigorous. Well-being centered on emotions and attention, which have been the most studied responses to green exercise, consistent with Ulrich’s (1983) stress reduction theory and Kaplan and Kaplan’s (1989) attention restoration theory. Recruiting 116 college students from a technology university in central Taiwan as the participants, this randomized controlled trial conducted field experiments with a pretest-and-posttest design from October 2013 to February 2014. The participants’ data on emotions were collected by the Chinese version of the Profile of Mood State short form (Chang & Lu, 2001). Their attention was tested by standardized tests (WMS-III, 1997). The major findings of this study are as follows. Nature explained 17.9% of the variance, while physical activity explained 9.2% of the variance. However, one 15-min bout of physical activity with either low or moderate METs (metabolic equivalents, the energy cost of a physical activity) in a setting with at least 40% visible greenness rate elicited even more benefits, explaining 58.0% of the variance, more than nature alone. Additionally, a low MET physical activity like walking was better than a moderate MET physical activity like jogging to improve attention and emotions without increased fatigue.     

Comparing green spaces provision and accessibility indicators over a latitudinal gradient and multiple climate zones

Monitoring urban green space (UGS) indicators is key to assessing progress against the UNs sustainable development goals (SDGs). Within these indicators, measuring the provision of UGS as well as its accessibility is considered a major objective. However, neither the relationship between the two indicators, nor differences related to different types of UGS have been adequately evaluated. In this paper, these two indicators are calculated and analyzed for four size-based types of UGS and for 69 municipalities, which are part of the 16 regional capital cities of Chile. For the provision indicator, the average calculated over all municipalities does not reach the often proposed standard of 11 sq.m/inhab., but only 5.29 sq.m/inhab. Regarding the accessibility indicator, when a walking speed of 4 km/h is considered, the smaller residential green spaces have the highest accessibility (65 % of the population have access), but accessibility for larger GS is low. When a walking speed of 2 km/h is assumed, then accessibility drops to 29 %, 5 %, 5 % and 5 % respectively. We found that calculation results for the four types of UGS are statistically different, and therefore one type cannot replace another in case of monitoring: Higher UGS provision does not guarantee higher accessibility.     

Evaluating the accessibility of urban parks and waterfronts through online map services: A case study of Shaoxing,China

Regular access to natural environment has many physical and mental health benefits for urban residents. This study was to evaluate the accessibility of urban parks and waterfronts in a Chinese canal city at the household level. Shaoxing, a typical canal town in the Yangtze River Delta region of China, was selected as the case study because of its abundant but underused natural resources. The study had measured the shortest travel routes from individual households to parks and waterfronts using data from the online map service and intensive fieldwork. The results showed that only 22% of Shaoxing residents live within a 500 m walking distance to parks, but scenario analysis showed if the canals were well used, almost all the residents would have access to natural environment within 15 min’ walk. Thus, the route-based accessibility evaluation method developed in this research offers a fine-grained understanding of household inequality in access to natural environments. It not only provides specific recommendations for planning intervention to improve the accessibility of natural resources in Shaoxing, but also contributes to the advancement of accessibility measures for planning practice. This route-based measure makes it possible to combine other accessibility measures of the travel routes such as sidewalk qualities in future research. The simplicity of this method means that it can be used to evaluate accessibility to other public facilities at the household level to develop walkable neighborhoods in cities.     

Do perceived walking distance to and use of urban blue spaces affect self-reported physical and mental health?

A cross-sectional analysis among 1041 urban residents was done to examine associations between self-reported walking distance to and use of freshwater urban blue space and health-related quality of life in two German cities: a city with “poor” urban blue space supply (Bielefeld; 0.8% blue space) and one with “better” urban blue space supply (Gelsenkirchen; 3.0% blue space). Health-related quality of life was assessed with the SF-12v2, which measures residents’ self-reported mental and physical health. Results showed a significant association between use frequency and perceived walking distance to blue space. Blue space use was a better indicator of health outcomes than perceived walking distance. After controlling for green space, socio-economic and demographic variables, use frequency was associated with higher mental health in Gelsenkirchen. These cross-sectional findings suggest that blue space use increases the probability of being healthier in highly urbanised areas in cities with an appropriate amount of blue space.     

Park features that encourage park visitation among older adults: A qualitative study

BackgroundParks provide many opportunities for promoting physical, social, and mental wellbeing among older adults and are therefore considered a good setting to promote healthy ageing. However, older adults are the age group least frequently observed visiting parks. To attract more older adults to parks, it is important to understand their needs and preferences for park design. The aim of this qualitative study was to gain in-depth information about older adults’ preferred park features for park visitation.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 older adults aged > 60 years who visited a recently renewed urban park in Ghent, Belgium at least once since its renewal. The interviews were conducted in-park or in the nursing home adjacent to the park until saturation of information was obtained. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, pseudonymised, and analysed by inductive content analysis using NVivo 12 software.ResultsThe most preferred park activities were walking, sitting, and watching the environment. The park features liked by older adults were good quality and accessible walking paths, nature and vegetation, openness and structural layout of the park, and sufficient and good quality sitting areas. The park features that they did not like mostly related to poor park maintenance.ConclusionsThis study provides an overview of park features that older adults perceive as important for park visitation. It is the first qualitative study in Belgium to assess which park features entice older adults to visit parks, and it contributes to the limited European knowledge on this topic. The evidence can help urban planners, landscape architects, and policymakers to (re)design attractive local parks that promote healthy ageing.     

Sidewalks,trees and shade matter: A visual landscape assessment approach to understanding people’s preferences for walking

IntroductionPublic health professionals and urban designers consider neighborhood sidewalks as a vehicle for promoting outdoor physical activity. The design of streetscape and available greenness may also influence walking behaviors and physical activity more generally.MethodData collection included a visual landscape assessment (VLA) survey, followed by focus groups to evaluate streetscape features that influence participants’ preferences for and choice of walking routes. With the considerations of equity in access to the environmental amenities, the study was conducted in marginalized communities. Sixty-nine people from low-income neighborhoods in Denver, CO participated in this study. Data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively, using multilevel statistical models.ResultsMore shade and trees, higher levels of maintenance, and the presence of a buffer between the street and sidewalk increase the likelihood of intuitively choosing a street for walking. The availability of natural surveillance, the presence of an open view, and the presence of attractive buildings increase the likelihood of cognitively choosing a street for walking.ConclusionPeople‘s preferences for and choice of walking routes, which include desired shade and walkability, should be considered in neighborhood planning to promote walkable environments.     

Too hot to handle? On the cooling capacity of urban green spaces in a Neotropical Mexican city

Urban areas are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, which can be mitigated by urban vegetation through shading and evapotranspiration. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of spatially explicit information on the cooling capacity of green infrastructure for most Latin American cities. In this study, we employed Land Surface Temperature (LST) of the Neotropical Mexican city of Xalapa to (1) analyze its Surface UHI (SUHI) compared to its peri and extra-urban areas, (2) to assess the cooling capacity of urban green spaces larger than 1 ha, and (3) to evaluate the role of green spaces’ size, shape and their surrounding tree cover percentage (Tc) on green spaces cooling range. We evaluated the cooling range of green spaces and their relationships with green spaces metrics and Tc via a linear mixed-effect model and identified threshold values for the variables at 25 m, 50 m, 100 m, and 200 m from the borders of green spaces through Classification and Regression Trees. Xalapa exhibits a SUHI of 1.70 °C compared to its peri-urban area and 4.95 °C to the extra-urban area. Green spaces > 2 ha mitigated heat at ~2 °C and the cooling range was influenced by the size of green spaces ≥ 2.8 ha and Tc > 21% at 50 m and only by Tc surrounding the green spaces at 100 m and 200 m. This shows that the size threshold of urban green spaces should be complemented with the presence of Tc starting at least 50 m to maximize the cooling capacity provided by the green infrastructure. Planning agendas should account for the interaction between the size of green spaces and the cumulative cooling effect of scattered vegetation inside urban areas towards compact green cities to cope with urban warming.     

Effects of nature sounds on the attention and physiological and psychological relaxation

This study aims to verify the effects of nature sounds on attention, and physiological and psychological relaxation. Twenty-six university students (mean age: 21.5 ± 1.9 years) participated in this study, and the experiment was conducted with one person at a time. A mixed sound of valley water and birds in a forest environment was used as the nature sound, and a road traffic sound was used as the urban sound (control). The participants performed the following steps: (1) closed their eyes and rested for 1 min; (2) opened their eyes and completed attention tasks while hearing nature or urban sounds for 1 min; (3) closed their eyes again and rested while hearing the same sound for 1 min. We used Harris and Harris grid for the attention task. We measured the participants’ oxy-hemoglobin concentration, heart rate variability, and heart rate for physiological evaluation, and used semantic differential method, and profile of mood states for psychological evaluation. As a result, ① There was no significant difference in the results of the attention task; however, the scores were slightly higher when hearing nature sound. ② The oxy-hemoglobin concentration and heart rate was lower, and parasympathetic nerve activity was enhanced when hearing nature sound than when hearing urban sound. ③ Once participants heard nature sound, they felt more comfortable, relaxed, and natural, and the negative mood state was lower, while the positive mood state was higher than urban sound. This suggests that hearing nature sounds may be an effective way to relieve stress in everyday life.     

Biodiversity and environmental stressors along urban walking routes

There is increasing focus on designing liveable cities that promote walking. However, urban walking routes can expose people to adverse environmental conditions that reduce health, well-being and biodiversity. Our primary objective is to assess how urban form is associated with environmental quality, including biodiversity, for people moving through urban spaces. We assess a range of environmental conditions that influence human health and biodiversity (temperature, noise and particulate pollution) and biodiversity of three taxa (trees, butterflies and birds) along 700 m public walking routes embedded in 500 m x 500 m grid cells across three UK towns. Cells are selected using random stratification across an urbanisation intensity gradient. Walking routes in more built-up areas were noisier and hotter; noise levels further increased in areas with more industrial land-use and large roads. There was no evidence of vegetation mitigating noise or temperature, but there was some evidence that increased vegetation cover mitigated small particulate pollution. Walking routes in more built-up environments had lower butterfly, bird and native tree species richness, and reduced butterfly abundance. Large roads were associated with reduced bird species richness and increased noise was associated with reduced bird abundance. Most specific measures of vegetation in the surrounding matrix (median patch size, structural complexity at 1.5 m resolution) were not detectably associated with biodiversity along walking routes, indicating minimal beneficial spill-over. Increased garden cover in the surrounding matrix was associated with less abundant and less species-rich butterfly communities. Our results highlight considerable heterogeneity in the environmental quality of urban walking routes and pedestrians’ potential to experience biodiversity along these routes, driven by reduced quality in areas with more built cover. A greater focus is needed on mitigating adverse effects of specific features of the built environment (roads, industrial areas, noise) surrounding walking routes to enhance the co-benefits of more biodiversity and healthier conditions for pedestrians.     

Psychological benefits of green exercise in wild or urban greenspaces: A meta-analysis of controlled trials

Green exercise, the combination of exercise and nature exposure, is known to benefit physical and mental health. However, there is a lack of quantitative evidence to support the psychological advantage of green exercise over non-green exercise. Also, it is unclear if there are psychological differences between green exercise in wild environments and urban greenspaces. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature search for outcomes concerning measures including the Profile of Mood States (POMS), Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Semantic Differential Method (SDM), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and Restorative Outcome Scale (ROS). Nineteen studies with 1662 participants were included in a meta-analysis to examine the advantages of green exercise and compare them in the two types of natural environments. The results indicate that green exercise may lower negative affect, including anxiety, tension, anger, depression, and fatigue. Meanwhile, green exercise may lead to higher positive moods and emotions, including vigor, comfort, natural feeling, and relaxation. Nevertheless, the effect on overall positive affect was not statistically significant. The comparative results suggest that wild environments may be more effective than urban greenspaces in improving vigor and comfort during green exercise. In conclusion, our findings support the advantages of green exercise over non-green exercise, meanwhile implying potential psychological differences between exercises in wild environments and urban greenspaces. Due to the limited number of studies and high heterogeneities, a future review is warranted to re-examine the psychological benefits.     

Density,diversity and richness of woody plants in urban green spaces: A case study in Chennai metropolitan city

A tree diversity inventory was carried out in urban green spaces (UGSs) of Chennai metropolitan city, India. This inventory aims to study the diversity, density and richness of trees in UGSs of Chennai. A total of one hundred 10 m × 10 m (total 1 ha) plots were laid to reveal tree diversity and richness of UGSs. Trees with ≥10 cm girths at breast height (gbh) were inventoried. We recorded 45 species in 42 genera and 21 families. Caesalpiniaceae and Fabaceae each with 6 species dominated the study area followed by Arecaceae (3). Density and stand basal area of the present study were 500 stems ha^?1 and 64.16 m², respectively. Most of the inventoried trees were native (31 species) and deciduous (28 species). Fabaceae and Caesalpiniaceae dominated the present study area in terms of stand basal area and density. The Shannon diversity index and evenness of study area were 2.79 and 0.73, respectively. The most important species and families based on species important value index (IVI) and family important value index were Albizia saman, Polyalthia longifolia and Azadirachta indica; Fabaceae, Caesalpiniaceae and Annonaceae respectively. We find Chennai's urban forest is relatively superior to many urban forests of the world in terms of stand basal area and species richness. Results emphasize the importance of enhancement of urban green spaces in Chennai metropolitan city.     

Stress recovery and restorative effects of viewing different urban park scenes in Shanghai,China

ObjectivesMany studies have found that natural environments benefit human health and wellbeing, but few have measured restorativeness of specific landscape components, especially in Chinese settings. Because the rapid urbanization of China is accompanied by increasing predomination of hardscape components in cities, the restorative quality of urban green space is a crucial issue. This study explored the stress recovery effects of different videotaped scenes, using six urban parks and one urban roadway scene. Potentially restorative urban park scenes were controlled for nature-based vs. hardscape components, presence/absence of people, and level of openness.MethodsSubjects were Chinese university students (N = 140) aged 18–24. After completing an oral exam as a stressor, an equal number of males and females were randomly assigned to watch one of the seven videotaped scenes during a stress recovery stage, while data were collected on changes in stress and attentional levels. Physiological responses were measured by Electrocardiography (ECG) and Skin Conductance Response (SCR). Psychological responses were measured by the state (short-term) version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), the Digit Span Backwards (DSB) test, and the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS).ResultsIn a Chinese sample, this study confirmed previous findings that nature-based urban park scenes relieved stress and restored attentional levels, while viewing an urban roadway increased negative feelings. Overall perceived restorativeness was significantly higher in two scenes depicting a Lawn without people and a Small Lake, compared with a paved Plaza with or without people, confirming previous findings that restorativeness is associated with predominance of nature-based landscape components. This study also confirmed previous findings that outdoor scenes without people were more restorative than scenes depicting people.DiscussionThis study found different levels of restorativeness associated with different landscape features, and helped confirm that nature-based components are more likely to reduce stress than hardscape components, using Chinese urban scenes with a Chinese population. Findings can be used in future planning and design of urban spaces in China, emphasizing the value of parks and green spaces in relevant contexts.     

Influences on the use of urban green space – A case study in Odense,Denmark

Increasing the use of urban green space has appeared on the political agenda, primarily because increased use is expected to improve the health and well-being of the urban population. Green space is contributing to restoring mental fatigue, serving as a resource for physical activity, reducing mortality and reducing the level of stress.However, knowledge and experience on how to implement this agenda are scarce. In this paper, we use a socio-ecological model as framework when studying influences on the use of respondents’ nearest urban green space in the Danish city of Odense. Data were obtained from a survey sent to 2500 randomly selected adult residents within the central part of the city. We tested the relative importance of different factors on the frequency of use of the nearest urban green space by using a multivariate logistic regression model. The results show that almost half of the respondents did not use their nearest green space the most. Whether or not respondent used their nearest green space most depends primarily on area size, distance to the area and factors that are likely to express a reduced mobility; old age, young children and poor health.If the nearest urban green space also is the most used green space, having a dog is the only factor that significantly increases the frequency of use. Further research is needed to determine what it is that makes people use an area more, if the basic conditions of a reasonable size (>5 ha) within a reasonable distance (<600 m) are fulfilled.     

Enhancing plant diversity and mitigating BVOC emissions of urban green spaces through the introduction of ornamental tree species

Promoting the plant diversity of urban green spaces is crucial to increase ecosystem services in urban areas. While introducing ornamental plants can enhance the biodiversity of green spaces it risks environmental impacts such as increasing emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) that are harmful to air quality and human health. The present study, taking Qingdao City as a case study, evaluated the plant diversity and BVOC emissions of urban green spaces and tried to find out a solution to increase biodiversity while reducing BVOC emissions. Results showed that: (1) the species diversity and phylogenetic diversity of trees in urban green spaces were 22% and 16% lower than rural forest of this region; (2) urban areas had higher BVOC emission intensity (2.6 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹) than their rural surroundings (2.1 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹); (3) introducing the selected 11 tree species will increase 15% and 11% of species diversity and phylogenetic diversity, respectively; and (4) the BVOC emissions from green spaces will more than triple by 2050, but a moderate introduction of the selected low-emitting trees species could reduce 34% of these emissions. The scheme of introducing low-emitting ornamental species leads to a win–win situation and also has implications for the sustainable green space management of other cities.     

Green roof cooling and carbon mitigation benefits in a subtropical city

Green roofs are promoted as an effective nature-based urban heat island mitigation strategy. Green roof cooling and energy-saving benefits have been simulated for various climatic zones, but mainly at the building scale. Due to a lack of fact-based information on neighborhood cooling benefits, green roof construction lags and has rarely been incorporated into urban planning actions. This study investigated the thermal benefits and energy savings of green roofs for the central area of the Xianlin Campus of Nanjing University at the neighborhood scale. Three scenarios were simulated for a hot summer day using a validated ENVI-met model: a base case (S0), extensive green roofs (EGRs) (S1), and intensive green roofs (IGRs) (S2). The air temperature cooling benefit from green roofs extended downwards to the pedestrian level. The EGR scenario achieved a maximum 0.29 °C air temperature reduction at the pedestrian level and 0.37 °C at the rooftop level. The IGR scenario achieved a maximum 0.35 °C air temperature reduction at the pedestrian level and 0.45 °C at the rooftop level. EGRs and IGRs reduced energy demands for air-conditioning by 0.39 kWh·m⁻²·d⁻¹ and 0.56 kWh·m⁻²·d⁻¹ and CO₂ emissions by 31,997 kg·d⁻¹ and 45,967 kg·d⁻¹, respectively. These results confirm that green roofs yield substantial cooling and carbon mitigation benefits. Our study provides essential data to establish green roofs as mainstream cooling technology in subtropical cities. The results also imply that urban planners and policymakers may need to embrace the implementation of green roofs in long-term planning and building design practices to improve urban thermal environments, reduce building energy demand, and curb carbon emissions.     

Characterizing green and gray space exposure for epidemiological studies: Moving from 2D to 3D indicators

The presence of green spaces has been associated with improved physical health and better mental health and wellbeing. In contrast, the presence of gray features including build-up areas might have a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of citizens. To date, the available evidence on the health effects of green and gray spaces have mainly relied on 2-dimensional (2D) indicators of these spaces such as land use maps or, more recently, satellite derived indices (e.g., green space indices such as normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) or gray space indices such as imperviousness). Although they are acceptable proxies of these exposures, 2D indicators could have inaccuracies when characterizing diverse set of vegetation types in combination with different types of gray spaces, which is typical of urban environments. To overcome this gap, we developed a set of three-dimensional (3D) indicators derived mainly from airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) acquired in 2008 and 2010 over the metropolitan area of Rome (Italy). In particular, we extracted volume of green features such as shrubs and trees (Green volume [m3/ha]), volume of buildings (Gray volume[m3/ha]), a novel index called Normalized Difference Green-Gray Volume index (NDGG) as well as indicators of the tree count. We compared the 3D indicators with two widely used 2D indicators for characterizing green and gray spaces (i.e., NDVI and imperviousness) in different buffers around 79140 address points in the city. For the green indicators, we found that the Pearson correlations between NDVI and Green Volume were 0.47 (50 m buffer) and 0.33 (300 m buffer) while the correlations between NDVI and number of trees were 0.56 (50 m buffer) and 0.58 (300 m buffer). For gray indicators, the correlations between imperviousness and gray volume were 0.62 (50 m buffer) and 0.79 (300 m buffer). For NDGG, the correlations were higher with both NDVI (0.76 and 0.83 for 50 m and 300 m buffers) and imperviousness (−0.75 and −0.83 for 50 m and 300 m buffers). Our results showed that the use of 3D indicators can have potential benefits, especially regarding green features which can be highly heterogeneous in complex urban landscapes such as the city of Rome.     

The advantage of mobile technologies in crowdsourcing landscape preferences: Testing a mobile app to inform planning decisions

Urban green spaces are vital for cities to achieve sustainability. Optimal design and management of green space is necessary to counter pressure from increased use due to urban densification and therefore needs to account for the preferences of its potential users. However, preference is inherently subjective and difficult to measure. This study tested a crowdsourcing method using a mobile app for on-site data collection to study the use of, perception of, and preferences for different green configurations in the Rembrandtpark, a large urban park in Amsterdam. Responses obtained through the mobile app were compared to those obtained through more traditional on-site and postal surveys to identify differences in sampled population and results. We found clear differences in respondent samples and in stated preferences when comparing the mobile app and the traditional survey methods. Mobile app respondents (n = 154) were younger and more willing to become more involved with park management. They were also less satisfied with most aspects of locations and found them more noisy. On-site survey respondents (n = 146) appeared more susceptible to response bias in their answers to certain questions. Employing different recruitment methods is important to engage different park user types and account for multiple perceptions.