The impact of green spaces on mental health in urban settings: a scoping review

Callaghan, Amy; McCombe, Geoff; Harrold, Aine; McMeel, C; Mills, Gerald; Moore‐Cherry, Niamh; Cullen, William R.

doi:10.1080/09638237.2020.1755027

Cited by 92 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The mantra of docklands being one of the most connected neighbourhoods in Europe may yet prove problematic both materially and discursively. Within the context of the pandemic lockdown, the comparatively poorer quality urban environment -devoid of greenspace and street trees-became particularly challenging both in terms of quality of life but also with potentially significant mental health implications (Callaghan et al, 2020). The consequences of decades of intervention focused on extracting the maximum exchange value from particular development sites and the sustained promotion of growth-first logics, even after the global financial crisis, have been throw into sharp relief as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban redevelopment, governance and vulnerability: thirty years of ‘regeneration’ in Dublin

Moore‐Cherry

2020

BAGE

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Over the last three decades, state intervention through urban regeneration has focused on ‘fixing’ perceived social and spatial vulnerabilities within particular neighbourhoods, communities or city spaces but has often generated new urban crises. Previous research examining regeneration over significant periods of time in the UK and Ireland, suggests that often the same spaces and communities are subject to repeated rounds of intervention. In this paper, the thirty year trajectory of regeneration in Dublin Docklands is examined. The importance of global flows of capital and how they are mediated by local contexts, actors and institutions through roll-back, roll-out and roll-with-it forms of neoliberalisation are examined. Since the global financial crisis, neoliberal governmentalities have been more deeply embedded in place through new institutions and the formation of a new growth machine that has produced new vulnerabilities. Dublin Docklands has been successfully commodified and marketized through the sustenance, albeit changing, of a growth logic over more than 30 years. Yet significant challenges related to governance, social inclusion and spatial justice remain, and arguably have been (un-) intentionally co-produced in new forms by sustained rounds of state intervention.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban redevelopment, governance and vulnerability: thirty years of ‘regeneration’ in Dublin

Moore‐Cherry

2020

BAGE

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“…It is made available under a preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in The copyright holder for this this version posted February 9, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.08.430200 doi: bioRxiv preprint Germaphobia! 16 include improvements in immune health (Li et al 2010;Rook, 2013), mental health (Birch et al 2020;Callaghan et al 2020), and cardiovascular health (Yao et al 2020;Yeager et al 2020). In the alternative direction (i.e., spending more time in natural environments which may help to establish more positive attitudes towards microbes), our positive attitudes towards microbes could conceivably reduce the likelihood that we carry out mass (non-targeted) sterilisation of our local environments, which could also have important implications for our health (Jun et al 2018;Parks et al 2020;Prescott, 2020;Renz and Skevaki, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In one direction (i.e., contingent on factors related to more positive attitudes towards microbes increasing the likelihood that we will spend more time in nature), we could potentially gain the many benefits associated with nature engagement. These include improvements in immune health (Li et al 2010;Rook, 2013), mental health (Birch et al 2020;Callaghan et al 2020), and cardiovascular health (Yao et al 2020;Yeager et al 2020). In the alternative direction (i.e., spending more time in natural environments which may help to establish more positive attitudes towards microbes), our positive attitudes towards microbes could conceivably reduce the likelihood that we carry out mass (non-targeted) sterilisation of our local environments, which could also have important implications for our health (Jun et al 2018;Parks et al 2020;Prescott, 2020;Renz and Skevaki, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Germaphobia! Does our Relationship with, and Knowledge of Biodiversity Affect our Attitudes Towards Microbes?

Robinson

Cameron

Jørgensen

2021

Preprint

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Germaphobia - a pathological aversion to microorganisms - could be contributing to an explosion in human immune-related disorders via mass sterilisation of surfaces and reduced exposure to biodiversity. Loss of biodiversity and our connectedness to nature, along with poor microbial literacy may be augmenting the negative consequences of germaphobia on ecosystem health. In this study, we created an online questionnaire to acquire data on attitudes towards, and knowledge of microbes. We collected data on nature connectedness and interactions with nature and explored the relationships between these variables. We found a significant association between attitudes towards microbes and both duration and frequency of visits to natural environments. A higher frequency of visits to nature per week, and a longer duration spent in nature per visit, significantly associated with positive attitudes towards microbes. We found no association between nature connectedness and attitudes towards microbes. We found a significant relationship between knowledge of "lesser known" microbial groups (e.g., identifying that fungi, algae, protozoa, and archaea are microbes) and positive attitudes towards microbes. However, we also found that people who correctly identified viruses as being microbes expressed less positive views of microbes overall - this could potentially be attributed to a COVID-19 effect. Our results suggest that basic microbial literacy and nature engagement may be important in reducing/preventing germaphobia. The results also suggest that a virus-centric phenomenon (e.g., COVID-19) could increase broader germaphobia. As the rise of immune-related disorders and mental health conditions have been linked to germaphobia, reduced biodiversity, and non-targeted sterilisation, our findings point to a feasible strategy to potentially help ameliorate these negative consequences. A greater emphasis on microbial literacy and promoting time spent in nature could be useful in promoting resilience in human health and more positive/constructive attitudes towards the foundations of our ecosystems - the microorganisms.

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“…A large and steadily increasing number of studies demonstrate the health-promoting effects of being in and interacting with nature [e.g., (153,154)], of viewing natural landscapes [e.g., (193)], or even listing to natural sounds [e.g., (194)]. Increased exposure to environmental greenness has been linked to lower psychological distress, depression and anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia incidence (105,157,195); as well as to slower cognitive decline in middle-aged individuals (191); and improved self-reported mental health in urban settings [see (196)]. Greenness is also important for healthy development in children, with a recent systematic review identifying an association between exposure to greenness and decreased emotional and behavioral difficulties, particularly inattention and hyperactivity (151).…”

Section: Resiliencementioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical Ecopsychology: The Mental Health Impacts and Underlying Pathways of the Climate and Environmental Crisis

2021

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Humankind is confronted with progressing climate change, pollution, environmental degradation, and/or destruction of the air, soil, water, and ecosystems. The climate and environmental crisis is probably one of the greatest challenges in the history of humankind. It not only poses a serious current and continuing threat to physical health, but is also an existing and growing hazard to the mental health of millions of people worldwide. This synergy of literature provides a current summary of the adverse mental health impacts of the climate and environmental crisis from the perspective of Clinical Psychology. Furthermore, it presents potential underlying processes, including biological, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and social pathways. The existing data suggest that the climate and environmental crisis not only acts as a direct stressor, but can also exert a detrimental impact on the various pathways, with the potential to amplify an individual's biopsychosocial vulnerability to develop mental ill-health. This is a call for an increased investigation into this emerging research field of Clinical Ecopsychology by clinical psychologists and other researchers.

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The impact of green spaces on mental health in urban settings: a scoping review

Cited by 92 publications

References 39 publications

Urban redevelopment, governance and vulnerability: thirty years of ‘regeneration’ in Dublin

Urban redevelopment, governance and vulnerability: thirty years of ‘regeneration’ in Dublin

Germaphobia! Does our Relationship with, and Knowledge of Biodiversity Affect our Attitudes Towards Microbes?

Clinical Ecopsychology: The Mental Health Impacts and Underlying Pathways of the Climate and Environmental Crisis

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