Viewing green space and older people’s well-being

Aims and method:

Investigates the role of outdoor housing environments, including front and back gardens, yards, courtyards, patios and balconies, in older people’s well-being. Descriptions of the outdoor environment were collected from 2,558 individuals living in 526 distinct housing developments using a postal questionnaire. A large range of background variables were measured, mainly through the questionnaire. Characteristics of respondents’ immediate neighbourhood environments were measured from digital maps and satellite / bird’s-eye images.

Key findings:

· Statistically significant predictors of well-being were having one’s own patio and having a green view from one’s living area.

· The research supports the claim that older people benefit from green space as much by viewing it from inside as spending time in it. If older people have no or very little garden space, a green street environment is likely to increase their well-being, especially if it can be seen from their home.

Reference:

Burton, E., Mitchell, L., & Stride, C. (2015). Bed of roses? The role of garden space in older people’s well-being. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Urban Design and Planning, 168(4), 164-173.

http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/89211/

Health effects of viewing landscapes

Aims and method:

Analyses the range of landscapes used in environmental psychology studies, and the evidence of health effects related to viewing these landscapes. A review of publications linking landscapes and health effects was conducted.

Key findings:

· Generally, natural landscapes gave a stronger positive health effect compared to urban landscapes. Urban landscapes were found to have a less positive and in some cases negative effect on health.

· Three main kinds of health effects are identified in studies; short-term recovery from stress or mental fatigue, faster physical recovery from illness, and long-term overall improvement on people’s health and well-being.

Reference:

Velarde, M. D., Fry, G., & Tveit, M. (2007). Health effects of viewing landscapes–Landscape types in environmental psychology. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 6(4), 199-212.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866707000416

Natural vs. urban scenes and emotional state

Aims and method:

Examines visual exposure to natural elements in outdoor environments. Subjects viewed sixty colour slides of either nature with water, nature dominated by vegetation, or urban environments without water or vegetation. The information rates of the three slide samples were equivalent. Measurements were taken of the effects of the slide presentations on alpha amplitude, heart rate, and emotional states.

Key findings:

· The two categories of nature views had more positive influences on psychophysiological states than the urban scenes.

· There was also a consistent pattern for nature, especially water, to have more positive influences on emotional states.

· Water, and to a lesser extent vegetation, held attention and interest more effectively than the urban scenes.

Reference:

Ulrich, R. S. (1981). Natural versus urban scenes: Some psychophysiological effects. Environment and Behavior, 13(5), 523-556.

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013916581135001

Emotional responses to trees and tree forms

Aims and method:

Explores the ways in which green scenes influence people. In the study, the preferences and emotional responses of 206 participants to viewing scenes with different tree forms and urban elements were examined utilising slides showing spreading, rounded, or columnar trees, or inanimate objects in two urban scenes. Blood pressure, skin temperature and other measurements were taken to measure the response.

Key findings:

· Positive emotional responses were recorded to urban scenes with trees over other inanimate objects, with people reporting feeling happier, friendlier, more attentive, less angry, less sad, and less fearful

· Lower blood pressure was recorded to trees with a spreading shape compared to trees with rounded or conical forms and a positive response and lower blood pressure when viewing dense canopies.

· Human well-being can be improved by planting trees of any form.

Reference:

Lohr, V. I., & Pearson-Mims, C. H. (2006). Responses to scenes with spreading, rounded, and conical tree forms. Environment and Behavior, 38(5), 667-688.

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013916506287355

The psychological benefits of natural views from the home

Aims and method:

Focuses on the psychological benefits of views from home windows in six apartment communities in Ann Arbor, Michigan. View contents, including both vegetation and built elements, were measured using both verbal reporting and visual materials.

Key findings:

· Natural views played a substantial role in participants’ satisfaction with their residential context. They also played a significant, although smaller, role in each of the three aspects of well-being included in the study.

· Built components significantly detracted from neighbourhood satisfaction but did not affect well-being.

· Views of gardens, flowers, and well kept landscaped areas played a strong positive role in participants’ neighbourhood satisfaction. More natural views led to stronger overall well-being.

Reference:

Kaplan, R. (2001). The nature of the view from home: Psychological benefits. Environment and behavior, 33(4), 507-542.

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00139160121973115

Street tree density and antidepressants

Aims and method:

Explores whether the presence of street trees has an impact on the prescription of antidepressants as a surrogate for mental health and wellbeing. Uses secondary data sources to examine the association between the density of street trees (trees/km street) in London boroughs and rates of antidepressant prescribing. The approach includes adjustment for potential confounders and allows for unmeasured area-effects using Bayesian mixed effects models.

Key findings:

· Reveals an inverse association, with a decrease of 1.18 prescriptions per thousand population per unit increase in trees per km of street (95% credible interval 0.00, 2.45).

· Suggests that street trees may be a positive urban asset to decrease the risk of negative mental health outcomes

Reference:

Taylor, M., Wheeler, B., White, P., Economou, T., & Osbourne, N. (2015) Research note: Urban street tree density and antidepressant prescription rates—A cross-sectional study in London, UK. Landscape and Urban Planning, 136, 174-179

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204614002941

Urban neighbourhood green space in children's emotional and behavioural resilience

Aims and method:

Explores the role of relative quantity of green space in urban English neighbourhoods in predicting parent-reported emotional and behavioural problems from early to middle childhood (ages 3, 5, 7) and in buffering the effects of multiple risk factors (neighbourhood disadvantage, family poverty and adverse life events) on child adjustment. We modelled data from 6384 Millennium Cohort Study children using multilevel growth curve modelling. Neighbourhood green space was measured with the percentage of green space within a standard small area.

Key findings:

• Access to gardens and use of parks and playgrounds were related to fewer conduct, peer and hyperactivity problems.
• Neighbourhood green space was generally unrelated to child adjustment, but poor children in urban neighbourhoods with more greenery had fewer emotional problems from age 3 to 5 than their counterparts in less green neighbourhoods.
• Neighbourhood green space may promote emotional well-being in poor urban children in early childhood.

Reference:

Flouri, E., Midouhas, E., & Joshi, H. (2014). The role of urban neighbourhood green space in children’s emotional and behavioural resilience. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 40, 179-186

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494414000565