A call to action: Improving urban green spaces to reduce health inequalities exacerbated by COVID-19

Geary, Rebecca; Wheeler, Benedict W.; Lovell, Rebecca; Jepson, Ruth; Hunter, Ruth F.; Rodgers, Sarah

doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106425

Cited by 102 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Consistent with a growing body of other research, our results suggest that investment in green infrastructure is important for supporting young people’s mental health “in place” during lockdowns [ 33 , 70 ]. A UK-based study reported that not having access to a private outdoor space during the pandemic was associated with greater psychological distress [ 20 ], while other studies have highlighted the mental health benefits offered by domestic gardens for both young and older individuals during lockdowns [ 35 , 37 , 71 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Mental Health of Young Australians during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Roles of Employment Precarity, Screen Time, and Contact with Nature

Oswald

Rumbold

Kedzior

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is widely understood to have contributed to mental health problems. In Australia, young people (18–24 years) have been disproportionately affected. To date, research has predominantly focused on the presence or absence of mental illness symptoms, while aspects of mental well-being have been overlooked. We aimed to explore associations between potential risk and protective factors and mental health more comprehensively, using the Complete State Model of Mental Health. An online survey of 1004 young Australians (55% female; M age = 21.23) was undertaken. Assessment of both mental illness and mental well-being enabled participants to be cross-classified into four mental health states. Those with ‘Floundering’ (13%) or ‘Struggling’ (47.5%) mental health reported symptoms of mental illness; a ‘Languishing’ group (25.5%) did not report symptoms of mental illness but mental well-being was compromised relative to those who were ‘Flourishing’ (14%) with high mental well-being. Multinomial logistic regressions were used to examine associations, adjusting for socio-demographic confounders. Protective factors associated with Flourishing mental health included being in secure employment, using screen time to connect with others, and reporting high levels of hope. Both incidental and purposive contact with nature were also associated with Flourishing, while a lack of green/bluespace within walking distance was associated with Languishing, absence of outdoor residential space was associated with Floundering, and lower neighbourhood greenness was associated with all three suboptimal mental health states. Precarious employment, financial stress, living alone, reporting decreased screen time during lockdowns, lower levels of hope, and high disruption of core beliefs were also associated with Struggling and Floundering mental health. Those who were Languishing reported somewhat less hardship and little disruption to core beliefs, but lower levels of hope compared to young people who were Flourishing. This study highlights that young adults require dedicated mental health services to deal with current burden, but should also be supported through a range of preventive strategies which target mental health risk factors, like precarious employment, and enhance protective factors, such as urban green infrastructure.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Mental Health of Young Australians during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Roles of Employment Precarity, Screen Time, and Contact with Nature

Oswald

Rumbold

Kedzior

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…An ecological study of 135 urbanized U.S. counties found that more countylevel greenspace was associated with lower racial disparities in infection (Lu et al 2021). This finding aligns with earlier evidence of an equigenic impact of greenspace (Mitchell and Popham 2008;Rigolon et al 2021) and supports the value of greenspace as a strategy for health equity in the pandemic recovery (Geary et al 2021;Mell and Whitten 2021).…”

Section: Changing Modes Of Travel?supporting

confidence: 73%

COVID-19, the Built Environment, and Health

Frumkin

2021

Environ Health Perspect

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BACKGROUND: Since the dawn of cities, the built environment has both affected infectious disease transmission and evolved in response to infectious diseases. COVID-19 illustrates both dynamics. The pandemic presented an opportunity to implement health promotion and disease prevention strategies in numerous elements of the built environment. OBJECTIVES: This commentary aims to identify features of the built environment that affect the risk of COVID-19 as well as to identify elements of the pandemic response with implications for the built environment (and, therefore, for long-term public health). DISCUSSION: Built environment risk factors for COVID-19 transmission include crowding, poverty, and racism (as they manifest in housing and neighborhood features), poor indoor air circulation, and ambient air pollution. Potential long-term implications of COVID-19 for the built environment include changes in building design, increased teleworking, reconfigured streets, changing modes of travel, provision of parks and greenspace, and population shifts out of urban centers. Although it is too early to predict with confidence which of these responses may persist, identifying and monitoring them can help health professionals, architects, urban planners, and decision makers, as well as members of the public, optimize healthy built environments during and after recovery from the pandemic.

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“…In this regard, urban BGI can provide safe outdoor activities during city quarantines and can be a buffer zone to maintain good health and quality of life. Along with other authors [18,23,24,[57][58][59][60] we are of the view that promoting nature contact under the conditions of social distancing is an issue where suitable spatial organization and urban design could help maintain personal and community well-being during crises such as COVID-19.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…Some research indicates that the longer the quarantine period, the greater the negative impact on mental health and well-being [3,4], where people in quarantine have higher levels of avoidance behavior and anger. Simultaneously, the decrease in daily social behavior and interaction and physical contact with others can lead to depression and a sense of isolation [48,[57][58][59][60]. In this regard, urban BGI can provide safe outdoor activities during city quarantines and can be a buffer zone to maintain good health and quality of life.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Dimensions of Urban Blue and Green Infrastructure during a Pandemic. Case Study of Moscow (Russia) and Perth (Australia)

et al. 2021

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Significant challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted that features of a modern, sustainable and resilient city should not only relate to fulfilling economic and social urban strategies, but also to functional urban design, in particular, related to urban blue and green infrastructure (BGI). Using results from a web-based questionnaire survey conducted May–July 2020 in Moscow (Russia) and Perth (Australia), this paper provides insights regarding citizens’ needs for and values of urban BGI as well as their changes during and after the COVID-19 restrictions. Survey data collected during the lockdown period have captured information about people’s ability to access green and blue spaces within urban BGI, inequalities in access, feelings, and values as well as needs and perceived pathways of future development of urban natural environment. In both cities, lockdowns limited access of people to green spaces which affected their mental and physical health. Survey results revealed that the quality, functionality, and location of open green spaces illustrated a disparity in distribution, meaning that in many cases several communities from particular neighborhoods suffered from limited access to BGI. Furthermore, in addition to analyzing perceptions and values of urban nature during the COVID-19 pandemic, some suggestions for improvement of urban BGI based on the survey responses are provided.

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A call to action: Improving urban green spaces to reduce health inequalities exacerbated by COVID-19

Cited by 102 publications

References 14 publications

Mental Health of Young Australians during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Roles of Employment Precarity, Screen Time, and Contact with Nature

Mental Health of Young Australians during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Roles of Employment Precarity, Screen Time, and Contact with Nature

COVID-19, the Built Environment, and Health

Human Dimensions of Urban Blue and Green Infrastructure during a Pandemic. Case Study of Moscow (Russia) and Perth (Australia)

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