Influence of urban green open space on residents’ physical activity in China

Abstract

Background Urban green open space is a valuable resource for physical activities of urban inhabitants and has the potential to reduce chronic illness and improve health. Research on the relationships between green open space and physical activity is incomplete and limited in China. Thus, the study examines how the urban green open space contributes to physical activity. Methods A questionnaire was designed based on the social ecology theory to investigate the physical activity of 513 residents in urban green open space. We use the time and frequency of residents exercising in urban green space to measure physical activity, and use the factor analysis to synthesize a large number of original factors (i.e., infrastructure, safety, accessibility, landscape quality, and space environment) into relatively few composite indicators. Based on the collected data of the cross-sectional population, the Order Probit regression model was constructed to analyze how urban green open space affects the residents’ physical activity from the perspective of social ecology. Results ① in community factors: accessibility is significantly positive correlation with residents’ physical activity, and there is no significant correlation between safety and physical activity; ②in natural factors: space environment and landscape quality are not significantly correlated with residents’ physical activity; ③ in built environmental factors: infrastructures, the area of green space, the size of open space, and entertainment facilities are significantly correlated to residents’ activity. Basketball courts, volleyball courts, swimming pools, and sports equipment will promote physical activity; ④ apart from the attributes of green open space, other factors are significantly correlated to physical activity in the green open space, e.g. having a companion. Conclusions Urban green open space plays an important role in promoting physical activity especially among the women and the old, and improving the attributes (such as accessibility, infrastructures, the area of green space, the size of open space and entertainment facilities) of the urban green open space and trying to set up group sports proper to play with companion (like “square dancing” and “Tai Chi”) can promote Chinese residents’ physical activity so as to improve public health. The results are significant to facilitate environment health.

Green Infrastructures and Grand Environmental Challenges: A Review of Research Trends by Keyword

“…Figure 11 shows the more innovative terms in this research field, such as "urban resilience" and "landscape," which confirm their fundamental role in the scientific research field of green infrastructures in addressing urban planning and territorial management policies from a social, environmental, and economic sustainability perspective [38,54,55]. In contrast, the Keywords Plus analysis (Figure 12) reveals that air-quality and physical-activity are the most recent terms in this research area, revealing two of the primary environmental services provided by green infrastructures: their contribution to improving air quality and reducing pollution [59][60][61] and its contribution to indirectly improving human health by promoting physical activity [62,63].…”

Promoting Resilience and Health of Urban Citizen through Urban Green Space

“…Urban resilience focuses on the socio-ability of an ecosystems to maintain its vital structural functions in a destructive urban sprawl. Urban sprawl habitats have many functions, including ecosystem services, to promote the creation of sustainable communities for disaster impacts, climate change and other disturbances (Wang et al 2019). Urban habitats are used to relieve the effects of natural hazards.…”

“…It has been stated that urban green open space helps encourage physical activity and reduce a variety of chronic diseases. There is a relationship between factors of the built environment, household density, recreational green and open spaces, and the amount of street inter-sections and walking activity (Wang et al 2019). Several reports support this view and there is some agreement that 'physical activity may be encouraged or limited by the built environment.'…”

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“…General vegetation, including trees, grasses, bushes, and crops in both natural and artificial green spaces can reduce harmful environmental factors such as air pollution, heat, and noise in the vicinity, and thus improve people’s general health [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Accessible green spaces, such as parks, with designed squares and amenities, provide vegetated outdoor spaces for physical activities and social gatherings, through which people can promote their physical and psychological wellness [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”