Structural Characteristics of Tree Cover and the Association with Cardiovascular and Respiratory Health in Tampa, FL

Jennings, Viniece; Gragg, Richard; Brown, Clyde; Hartel, Dudley R.; Kuehler, Eric A.; Sinykin, Alex; Johnson, Elijah; Kondo, Michelle C.

doi:10.1007/s11524-019-00380-2

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…The evidence provided by this ecological study is consistent with the evidence for the beneficial effects of living in or near green environments on cardiovascular health presented in earlier ecological studies (e.g. Hu et al 2008;Kardan et al 2015;Jennings et al 2019) and systematic reviews (e.g. Gascon et al 2016;Nieuwenhuijsen 2018).…”

Section: Green Spacesupporting

confidence: 90%

Residential green space, air pollution, socioeconomic deprivation and cardiovascular medication sales in Belgium: A nationwide ecological study

Aerts

Nemery

Bauwelinck

et al. 2020

Science of The Total Environment

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Green space may improve cardiovascular (CV) health, for example by promoting physical activity and by reducing air pollution, noise and heat. Socioeconomic and environmental factors may modify the health effects of green space. We examined the association between residential green space and reimbursed CV medication sales in Belgium between 2006 and 2014, adjusting for socioeconomic deprivation and air pollution. We analyzed data for 11,575 census tracts using structural equation models for the entire country and for the administrative regions. Latent variables for green space, air pollution and socioeconomic deprivation were used as predictors of CV medication sales and were estimated from the number of patches of forest, census tract relative forest cover and relative forest cover within a 600 m buffer around the census tract; annual mean concentrations of PM2.5, BC and NO2; and percentages of inhabitants that were foreign-born from lower-and mid-income countries, unemployed or had no higher education. A direct association between socioeconomic deprivation and CV medication sales [parameter estimate (95% CI): 0.26 (0.25; 0.28)] and inverse associations between CV medication sales and green space [-0.71 (-0.80; -0.61)] and air pollution [-1.62 (-1.69; -0.61)] were observed. In the regional models, the association between green space and CV medication sales was stronger in the region with relatively low green space cover (Flemish Region, standardized estimate -0.16) than in the region with high green space cover (Walloon Region, -0.10). In the highly urbanized Brussels Capital Region the association tended towards the null. In all regions, the associations between CV medication sales and socioeconomic deprivation were direct and more prominent. Our results suggest that there may be an inverse association between green space and CV medication sales, but socioeconomic deprivation was always the strongest predictor of CV medication sales.

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Section: Green Spacesupporting

confidence: 90%

Residential green space, air pollution, socioeconomic deprivation and cardiovascular medication sales in Belgium: A nationwide ecological study

Aerts

Nemery

Bauwelinck

et al. 2020

Science of The Total Environment

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“…While the extent of air pollution removal by green infrastructure can vary 14 , many researchers note the benefits of green infrastructure to a city's ambient environment 12,15 . In some cases, increased tree density and leaf area index are associated with a variety of health benefits including fewer cases of respiratory illness 16 . The net benefits of green infrastructure, however, should be balanced with their potential to increase pollen and other compounds that contribute to air pollution 17 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Green infrastructure can limit but not solve air pollution injustice

2021

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Outdoor air pollution contributes to millions of deaths worldwide yet air pollution has differential exposures across racial/ethnic groups and socioeconomic status. While green infrastructure has the potential to decrease air pollution and provide other benefits to human health, vegetation alone cannot resolve health disparities related to air pollution injustice. We discuss how unequal access to green infrastructure can limit air quality improvements for marginalized communities and provide strategies to move forward.Outdoor air pollution is a leading contributor to the environmental burden of disease and linked to over four million deaths worldwide each year 1 . The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that almost half of cities with more than 100,000 residents, and most (97%) cities in lowand middle-income countries of that size, do not meet WHO air quality guidelines 2 . From 1960 to 2009, global levels of fine particulate matter increased by 38% leading to a greater health burden from polluted air 3 . Even in the midst of the current pandemic, evidence of higher COVID-19 deaths among people with pre-existing conditions was linked to elevated air pollution exposure 4,5 and/or residing in areas with historically higher levels of air pollution 6 . Exposure to air pollution, however, is not evenly distributed, especially within cities. Many studies document differential exposure to air pollution by race/ethnicity 7,8 and socio-economic status 8-10 in cities across the world. Neighborhoods segregated by race and class often have less political and economic power, and are often neglected by government institutions such that they receive fewer resources compared to privileged communities 11 . This predicament results in disproportionate and overlapping exposures to environmental burdens 11 . Through the years, some approaches to decrease outdoor pollution include regulation of air pollution sources, emission controls on personal vehicles, and-more recently-the expansion of green infrastructure. The expansion of green infrastructure can mitigate urban air pollution to some extent. Yet, urban greening cannot compensate for systemic injustices that lead to disproportionate burdens in environmental health, and therefore, green infrastructure investments need to be balanced with other efforts to ameliorate air pollution injustices. Green infrastructure for air pollution mitigationMany cities have explored the potential of green infrastructure to mitigate urban air pollution and studies estimate that the value of this ecosystem service is worth about $3.8 billion dollars in the United States alone 12 . The definition of green infrastructure varies by discipline and scope. In this article, we focus on the broader role of all urban vegetation that provides ecosystem services via the mitigation of air pollution. For example, roadside green barriers can block the movement

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“…Diastolic blood pressure was significantly lower ( p < 0.05) in both experimental groups after 15 min of observation ( Figure 4 ), indicating enhanced parasympathetic activity and decreased sympathetic activity under the deciduous environmental intervention, with no significant changes before and after in the control group, which is consistent with Chorong et al [ 33 ]. As this experiment involved a short period of environmental stimulation, blood oxygen was an important parameter of the respiratory cycle, and although studies have demonstrated that respiration is negatively correlated with canopy cover and leaf area index in forest structure [ 64 ], the experimental environment did not involve changes in the respiratory environment, and the blood oxygen index did not change significantly and was at normal values in both the experimental and control groups. This outcome is consistent with the findings of Lyu [ 65 ] and Zeng [ 40 ] in a three day bamboo forest environmental study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Empirical Study of the Restoration Potential of Urban Deciduous Forest Space to Youth

Dong

Luo

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Urban deciduous forests are an important ecological resource and seasonal landscape in the urban environment. However, in the abundant literature on how urban green space promotes human health and well-being, research on urban seasonal deciduous forests is limited. This study aimed to investigate the physiological and psychological recovery potential provided of urban deciduous forest space for youths and the spatial preferences of youths regarding such spaces. We recruited 120 participants to study the restorative potential of two typical urban deciduous forest landscape spaces (experimental groups) and one urban road environment (control group). The results showed that after 15 min of observation, the blood pressure (especially the diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.01)) and pulse of the deciduous forest trail setting (DFTS) group effectively decreased, and the restorative mood significantly increased. Regarding change in emotional parameters, the DFTS group scored higher on “interest” and significantly higher than the other two groups on positive emotion. The correlation results show that density and level are the key factors affecting spatial preferences regarding complex deciduous forests. An increase in density reduces the mood of re-laxation, and an increase in level decreases fatigue and interest. We suggest (1) constructing foot-paths in urban deciduous forests to reduce their spatial density as to improve the relaxation effect and (2) increasing landscape diversity according to the forest space to facilitate user participation and interest. This study provides a scientific basis for the environmental restoration of deciduous landscapes and for urban forestry management decision-makers based on space type construction.

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Structural Characteristics of Tree Cover and the Association with Cardiovascular and Respiratory Health in Tampa, FL

Cited by 12 publications

References 80 publications

Residential green space, air pollution, socioeconomic deprivation and cardiovascular medication sales in Belgium: A nationwide ecological study

Residential green space, air pollution, socioeconomic deprivation and cardiovascular medication sales in Belgium: A nationwide ecological study

Green infrastructure can limit but not solve air pollution injustice

An Empirical Study of the Restoration Potential of Urban Deciduous Forest Space to Youth

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