The Relationship between Social Cohesion and Urban Green Space: An Avenue for Health Promotion

Abstract

Social cohesion involves the interpersonal dynamics and sense of connection among people. Increased social cohesion can be associated with various physical and psychological health benefits. The presence of urban green spaces can encourage positive social interactions that cultivate social cohesion in ways that enhance health and well-being. Urban green spaces have also been linked to positive health behaviors and outcomes including increased physical activity and social engagement. Understanding the relationship between social cohesion and urban green space is important for informing holistic approaches to health. In this article, we discuss how positive interactions in urban green space can catalyze social cohesion, social capital and critical health-promoting behaviors that may enhance psychological health and well-being. We also summarize the strengths and limitations of previous studies and suggest directions for future research.

Addressing Inequity: Evaluation of an Intervention to Improve Accessibility and Quality of a Green Space

“…Some evidence suggests that access to public green spaces can be linked to social indicators of health, such as community identity and relationship networks [20,21], which again may support mental renewal and enhance community satisfaction, sense of community, and community attachment among of 16 residents [21][22][23][24][25], and that aesthetic surroundings can improve place attachment, or emotional bonds to a location [26].…”

“…This group also tends to be more dependent on local resources [9,11,12,34,39] since they have fewer opportunities to travel away from their neighbourhoods of residence. Thus, equitable access to local resources, such as green spaces, can be a potential way to moderate health inequalities associated with socioeconomic deprivation [5,[10][11][12]23,36,[40][41][42]. It is also the case that providing public green spaces that are inaccessible for socioeconomically disadvantaged groups might result in widening both health and social inequalities [12,[41][42][43].…”

Social media, nature, and life satisfaction: global evidence of the biophilia hypothesis

“…Different from the other contexts analyzed, fun activities are likely to be a social setting where people tend to interact with each other in a group. The combination of both social interaction and nature connection can be more rewarding than having either element alone [36][37][38] . Being related to both humans and nature is likely to contribute to our life satisfaction.…”

Potted street gardens ownership is associated with higher depression level in a dense residential neighborhood.docx

“…In this paper we focused on the relationship between SPGs ownership and depression, in a dense low-income residential neighborhood in the city of Tangier, Morocco, using a face-to-face survey (N=388) conducted in January 2019. An impressive body of literature studied and confirmed the positive impact urban green spaces have on mental health, such as reducing depression and stress levels (Ulrich et al, 1991 (Jennings & Bamkole;. Some studies also found that the amount of urban green space was positively associated with mental health, and that this association was stronger among disadvantaged ethnic minorities and lower socioeconomic status communities, in addition to those that spend more time at home, including the elderly (Maas, Verheij, Groenewegen, De Vries & Spreeuwenberg, 2006; Waliczek, Mattson & Zajicek, 1996).…”