Similar spaces,different usage : A comparative study on how residents in the capitals of Finland and Denmark use cemeteries as recreational landscapes

Several studies from the Nordic countries show that cemeteries not only fulfil an important societal function as places for the disposal of bodily remains; they are also recreational landscapes that people visit to reflect, experience nature or perhaps go for a walk with the dog. In this comparative study, based on PPGIS data collected between 2018 and 2020 from residents in Copenhagen (Denmark) and Helsinki (Finland), we explored the extent to which residents use urban cemeteries as everyday recreational landscapes. We also assessed users’ characteristics and the values they attached to the cemeteries. The results show that several of Copenhagen’s cemeteries were actively used for recreation, while those in Helsinki were used much less frequently for this purpose. Of the total 7276 mapped visiting points in Copenhagen, 16.5% were located within cemeteries, compared with 1.9% of the 4298 mapped visiting points in Helsinki, hence conclusions from Helsinki should be drawn with caution. Physical activity and experiencing nature were the most common values attached to cemeteries in Copenhagen, whereas social interaction, spirituality and tranquillity were most common for Helsinki cemeteries. The results also revealed that younger Danes were particularly inclined to use cemeteries for social interactions, physical activity and spirituality and tranquillity. In the discussion, we elaborate on spatial differences between the cases, such as the availability of other green spaces, the size of cemeteries or people living in proximity to a cemetery, as well as on differences in policies and practices, including how Copenhagen stands out in actively promoting municipal cemeteries as recreational landscapes.     

Connection to nature and time spent in gardens predicts social cohesion

A person’s health and wellbeing are contingent on the amount of social support that they receive. Similarly, experiencing nature has been shown to improve people’s health and wellbeing. However, we do not know how relationships between social cohesion, nature experiences and nature connection could interrelate and vary across different types of urban green spaces, and in non-Westernised cultures. We conducted a study on 1249 residents in Singapore, a tropical city-state, and measured three dimensions of social cohesion (i.e. general social cohesion; trust and sense of community; and social interactions), various types of nature experiences (i.e. amount of green space around one’s residence; frequency and duration of urban green space visits; frequency and duration of visits to gardens), and three dimensions of one’s connection to nature: self-identity with nature, desire to experience nature, and environmental concern (using the nature relatedness scale). We found that people who strongly identify with nature, who enjoy being in nature, and who had more frequent gardens visits were more likely to have a stronger sense of social cohesion across two dimensions. However, those with stronger environmental concern reported an overall weaker sense of social cohesion, possibly due to the perception that society’s contributions to conserve environmental problems was insufficient. Further, people who gardened more frequently were also more likely to visit green spaces, self-identify with nature and exhibit a stronger desire to experience nature. We propose that strategies targeted at encouraging people to engage in nature-related, collaborative activities at the local community level, such as spending time in local gardens, will increase urban residents’ daily nature experiences and its associated benefits such as improving social cohesion.     

Disparities in neighborhood park access among adults in Philadelphia

Researchers have clearly identified the importance of green space to promote mental and physical health among humans. In urban areas, public parks are essential for providing access to green space for many residents. This study identified the relationships between demographics, neighborhood social capital, violent crime, and residential distance to the closest park (park proximity) with self-reported access to neighborhood parks, among a population-representative sample of adults in Philadelphia. Women, older age groups, minorities, and those with lower education levels had lower self-reported access to neighborhood parks. Those reporting high neighborhood social capital had higher self-reported access to neighborhood parks. Park proximity and number of violent crimes within 100 m from respondents’ residence were inversely associated with self-reported access to neighborhood parks. Interestingly, those living proximal to parks had higher odds of self-reported access to parks, but only among residents living in lower violent crime quartiles, and not in the highest violent crime quartile. These results suggest that those who lived in areas with high violent crime might be deterred from using neighborhood parks, even if there are parks close to their residence. Results of the study show that demographic groups that have been historically marginalized in the U.S., including women, older age groups and minorities, had lower self-reported access to parks in Philadelphia. The study also highlights the potential importance of neighborhood social capital and perceptions of safety to self-reported access to neighborhood parks.     

Why don’t we go outside? – Perceived constraints for users of urban greenspace in Sweden

Urban greenspace (UGS) is important for human wellbeing, particularly physical and mental health, and is claimed to support social cohesion. However, the expansion and densification of urban centres in recent decades has occurred largely at the expense of UGS. This risks its attractiveness for users. Although recent research has identified various factors that influence the use of UGS in different contexts, few studies have taken an explicit, bottom-up approach to understand which factors constrain willingness to use it. This study analyses responses from an online survey in Sweden (N = 2806) to identify the main constraints to UGS usage, and for whom these are constraints. Respondents could select from 22 different types of constraints – relating to incivilities, management, accessibility and availability, safety, and personal issues. Respondents could also provide comments to identify additional constraints. Incivilities were the most perceived problem. For example, litter was selected by 53% of respondents, while vandalism was selected by 24%. At the same time, many respondents perceived few or no constraints – 59% stated that nothing prevented them from using UGS, while 35% stated that they saw no problems. Safety-related and accessibility/availability constraints were not strongly identified although many respondents commented that UGS in Sweden is inadequate given the large number of users, and that the UGS that people want to use the most is often inaccessible without a car. Multiple binary logistic regression was used to investigate relationships between perceptions of constraints and fourteen predictor variables. Odds ratios were used to determine whether significant (p < 0.05) relationships were meaningful. Our findings show that different groups have starkly divergent perceptions of constraints relating to UGS. Several key factors – including age, self-reported nature-connectedness, distance to UGS, and frequency of use – were associated with a heightened likelihood of perceiving different groups of constraints. However, relationships between constraints and factors relating to environmental justice were not straightforward. These findings indicate the complexity of UGS planning challenges relating to densification, the New Urban Agenda and promotion of societal benefits, and a need to further integrate multiple user perspectives, especially of younger adults and infrequent users.     

Are social media data and survey data consistent in measuring park visitation,park satisfaction,and their influencing factors? A case study in Shanghai

Given the importance of urban parks for recreation, it is critical to understand how they are used and perceived. Currently, relatively few studies have examined the public’s activities and preferences at the same time. Social media data are increasingly recognized as a promising data source to study these two aspects. However, little is known regarding the utility and representativeness of social media data for urban parks. In particular, a lack of understanding exists on the comparability of research results measured by bottom-up social media data and top-down official survey data in urban park studies. This research used social media data from Ctrip and Dianping and survey data from the local government agency with park visits statistics and park satisfaction surveys to understand the public’s visitation and satisfaction of 102 urban parks in central Shanghai. We first assessed the similarities between the social media data and survey data by correlation analysis. We then used the negative binomial regression model and beta regression model to examine the matches and mismatches of the different data sources in investigating factors influencing park visitation and park satisfaction. Our correlation results showed that the social media data significantly correlated with the survey data and that social media data performed better in more frequently visited parks. Our regression results showed that the water bodies, recreational facilities, and surrounding commercial facilities were the common influencing factors of park visitation and park satisfaction for all parks. While significant correlations were noticed between these two data sources, we found that the surrounding population density was negatively associated with park visitation measured by social media data but positively associated with park visitation measured by survey data. This study provides a comparative perspective to study park visitation and park satisfaction by combining social media data and official survey data. Clarifying the consistencies and inconsistencies between the social media data and official survey data is important because it could help us to understand the representativeness and potential biases of the social media data when used in visitation monitoring and satisfaction monitoring.     

Malaysians’ perception on the contribution of urban green spaces to the UN sustainable development goals

There are only few studies globally that have documented the linkages between urban green spaces (UGS) and sustainable development goals (SDGs). In Malaysia, there is no existing research evaluating the relationship between UGS and SDGs. In this study, we assessed Malaysians’ perception on the association between UGS and seven selected SDGs, building on existing studies that looked at importance of UGS with regards to biodiversity, health, and wellbeing outcomes in Malaysia. Using an online survey of 645 respondents across Malaysia, we tested two hypotheses: H1) perception of SDGs varies by socio-demographic factors and H2) perception of SDGs is moderated by distance to green spaces. A pre-tested structured online questionnaire was administered using a 5-point Likert scale. The data was then analysed using analysis of variance and ordinary least squares. Results show that there is an overall statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) between the sociodemographic variables and the positive perceptions of seven selected SDGs. Several sociodemographic factors (female, younger age, university education, closer to UGS, physical activities in UGS) had positive and significant relationship between UGS and SDGs perception. However, proximity to UGS did not moderate the effect of demographic factors on the attitude towards the SDGs. As Malaysia is becoming a rapidly urbanized country, we suggest developing small green spaces (e. g. pocket parks) in the vicinity of housing areas so that people will have easy access and perform physical activities for their wellbeing. At the same time these green spaces will ultimately contribute to achieving other SDGs in urban areas.     

一种对Gamma分布的SAR图像相干斑去噪方法

M函数是一类特殊的级数，常用于计算冲击模型的寿命分布，本文主要讨论了M函数在其参数δ及参数x趋向无穷大和趋向零的情形下的极限，从而得到了M函数的三个极限性质，进而，利用M函数的极限性质给出了滤过泊松过程一阶矩的简洁证明.