Urban green space interaction and wellbeing – investigating the experience of international students in Berlin during the first COVID-19 lockdown

Collins, Charlotte; Haase, Dagmar; Heiland, Stefan; Kabisch, Nadja

doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2022.127543

Cited by 45 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Equally, this was mirrored in concurrent studies [35,39,40], where outdoor activities were intensified in spaces where social distancing could be maintained or where a surge in users was noticed in outdoor areas. However, when comparing character and mood before COVID-19 and after COVID-19, it became apparent that everyone or all demographics felt stressed by COVID-19, which significantly changed mood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…[ 16,19,21,[32][33][34] Importance of green spaces for a wide range of activities from exercise to birding and reported values related to reducing stress in a time of global chaos-respite and relaxation in a time of distress. [5,21,[35][36][37][38][39] Increase in the number of visitors to parks during the pandemic. [19,26,40] Access and abundance of green spaces have been proven to be an essential factor in the health and wellbeing of urban dwellers [41][42][43], and research shows us that gardens, parks, natural areas, and other types of open spaces provide many environmental and health benefits [44][45][46].…”

Section: Theme Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both pedestrians (walking, running, hiking) and cyclists appeared to intensify activity on trails with higher green views and tree canopy cover that allowed them to maintain social distancing preferences [40]. Other studies reported that 25% of the users either never or rarely accessed their local natural areas before the pandemic [35,39]. In contrast, other studies mentioned that most first-time users reported that having access to these areas during COVID-19 was very important [14,38,51].…”

Section: Theme Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Importance of Outdoor Spaces during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Aotearoa—New Zealand

et al. 2022

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The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and its extensive variants have caused drastic changes to people’s habits and routines in many countries worldwide, including Aotearoa—New Zealand. The levels of lockdown and/or movement limitations affected how people used outdoor spaces, often keeping them away from nature’s benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures adopted to control it provide an interesting experiment investigating the links between nature exposure, recreational use of outdoor spaces, and people’s health and wellbeing under extreme conditions. Using an online survey distributed during lockdown and based on 212 responses, this article explores the different typologies of the outdoor spaces that people had access to during lockdown and the associated physical activities practised. It investigates how outdoor space affects our emotional response and how such space and related activities can help us cope with confinement. The results of this study enable us to better understand those spatial elements and characteristics of outdoor spaces that are essential to people’s wellbeing, especially in unusual circumstances where access is restricted.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Theme Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theme Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Importance of Outdoor Spaces during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Aotearoa—New Zealand

et al. 2022

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“…A considerable body of literature has examined whether there are social wellbeing benefits for those who visit green spaces, with spaces where people visit for longer periods and feel safe to socialise and relax experiencing the greatest outcomes (Ward Thompson et al, 2016;Holt et al, 2019). These benefits to social wellbeing have even been observed during COVID-19, when the extent and frequency of social interactions in green spaces was reduced (Collins et al, 2022). As was mentioned in the results, participants in this present study tended to predominantly use the green roof for socialisation and relaxation, despite COVID-19, generally continuing this trend.…”

Section: Key Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social impact of green roofs

Dang

Legg

Khan

et al. 2022

Front. Built Environ.

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Green roofs are recognised as contributing towards building-related energy efficiency. Since roofs account for 20–25% of all urban surface areas, it is not surprising that such a green system can offer a sustainable solution to decreased energy consumption. The current literature on green roofs mostly focuses on the eco-benefits of such structures. A handful of research papers1 have theorised that as green roofs become more prevalent, there will be associated social outcomes for an urban community. However, empirical work in this space is minimal. This research addresses this gap and contributes to the literature by providing insights into city dwellers’ social experiences when using a green roof space. This study identified a green roof space in central Sydney, Australia: the Alumni Green at the University of Technology Sydney. The roof, containing a garden, a concrete open space and a raised grass area amounting to 1,200 m2, is above parts of the university’s library and classrooms, and is easily accessible by staff, students, and members of the public. Two members of the research team conducted surveys on site. Some green-roof users were also contacted via email. Over 128 individuals began the survey, although after removing responses that were incomplete or containing errors, 104 responses remained. The findings revealed that users, most commonly, relaxed or socialised on the green roof, with exercise a far less frequent activity. Further, those who frequented the green roof once a week or more reported significantly greater social well-being and attachment to place than those who visited less. Likewise, those who visited the green roof for periods of 30 min or more also reported greater social wellbeing. There were no significant differences between frequency and length of use and users’ perspectives on the green roof’s economic, physical, collective identity or environmental impacts. These present findings have implications for urban and landscape designers, as they reveal that green roofs have similar social and place-attachment benefits to those observed of green spaces in the literature. Given that green roofs can fit in places that parks or other open spaces often cannot, their implementation should be encouraged to promote social well-being and place attachment.

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“… What is urban green space (UGS)? Here, UGS are referred to as natural or semi-natural land in urban areas, i.e., vegetated plots including agricultural areas, lawns , forests , parks , gardens ( Collins et al, 2022 , WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2016 ). What is green-blue infrastructure (GBI)?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%