The role of urban green spaces in mood change

2018

Current literature shows an adequate evidence of the importance of urban parks on people health, especially to reduce stress. Nevertheless, space quality must be considered. This research presents people’s perception of the relationship between space quality of urban park and mood state after visiting urban parks. A questionnaire survey gleaned opinion from visitors in three popular urban parks in Gorgan city. Study showed that three variables of space qualities including “fresh air”, “tree and greening” and “flower” positively predicted mood state. The finding of this study also showed that attitudes towards “tree and greening” and “flower” were different. “Flower” was found as the most influential space quality to explain the mood state for women, while “tree and greening” was profound among men. The use of flowers is suggested as a means of making urban parks more relaxing and pleasant for women. The importance of green areas inclusive of trees and flowers should be considered fo...

Forests

Green spaces in cities are places where city dwellers can have contact with nature, which, according to the research to date, can have a very beneficial effect on their mental well-being. However, it is still not entirely clear which characteristics of green spaces are most beneficial in terms of their positive impact on people. In this study, we focus on identifying the restorative attributes of tree canopy sites (forests, street greenery) and open green spaces (water, meadows). Four psychometric tests were used to examine the subjects’ reactions before and after exposure to the analyzed environments (the control environment was the room in which the pre-test was conducted). The experiment was conducted with 55 young adult university students. It was shown that, compared to the post-housing (control) environment, all green spaces influenced the subjects’ well-being. The water environment had the most beneficial effect, followed by a meadow, a forest, and a housing estate with the p...

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

Frequent visits to urban green areas have been widely demonstrated to bring notable health benefits to city residents and helped them to maintain contact with nature. Empirical evidence strongly supports the positive influence of a green environment on the physical and mental health of the population. However, there is a lack of existing literature on the Western Balkan region, with no evidence of whether the impact of urban green spaces on health depends on the type and average amount of green space available. This paper examines the connection between the perceived benefits of urban green areas and the physical and mental well-being of visitors in two central municipalities of the city of Belgrade (Serbia). For this purpose the survey was conducted on two hundred residents of the municipalities of Vračar and Čukarica. The object of the survey was to explore whether residents who live in areas with more green spaces perceive better physical and mental health and spend more time outdoors. A t-test for independent samples showed that the respondents who value recreational activities like walking and common activities perceive more social benefits of a green space. The results indicate that urban green areas are recognised as suitable settings for running and jogging, but also refer to their potential for the alleviation of self-reported nervous problems and medication use, therefore supporting further research on this topic.

Landscape and Urban Planning, 2010

Research indicates a relationship between sensory perception of natural environments and human health. Our hypothesis is that people perceive green spaces in terms of certain dimensions, where some dimensions are more important and preferred than others with respect to restoring people from stress.

Scandinavian journal of public health, 2014

To assess the relationship between green space proximity, use of green space and depressive symptoms and perceived general health among a random sample men and women. Cross-sectional study of a population-based sample of 6,944 45-72 year old Kaunas city residents. Self-reported questionnaires provided information on sociodemographic variables, health behaviours, depressive symptoms and poor and very poor perceived general health. Residential proximity to green spaces was defined as living less than 300 m, within interval of 300-999 m, and equal or more than 1 km from a park. The use of the park was divided into two categories: no park use or use <4hrs/week and use of the park ≥4 h/week. The study received approval from the Kaunas Regional Research Ethics Committee. Multiple logistic regression assessed the associations controlling for confounding variables. The prevalence of depressive symptoms and poor and or very poor perceived general health was higher in women than in men. Th...

Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs

Urban open green spaces have an important role in today's health problems and the necessity for the urban health to create green areas that have high accessibility for all citizens. Acceleration of urbanization in recent decades decays balance of green areas and impervious surfaces in cities because of rent seeking society. The main problem associated with adequate provision of green area and fair access for residents. According to the "Spatial Planning Policy Framework" the green area per capita in urban area (10 m²), Kırklareli doesn't provide green space per capita. The aim of the study is to identify the socio-psychological effects of the green areas in the Kirklareli. Objectives of the study is to determine the correlation between socio-psychological criterias with green space accesiblity, per capita and visiting time and to discuss the findings rationale. The following hypothesis was proposed "urban green areas on inhabitants have positive effects on human health, quality of life and stress". In this context, a survey was conducted to analyze the socio-psychological effects of urban green spaces in Kirklareli. Expected outcome of the study is that green areas are associated with positive emotions, green space per capita and accessibility that can assist to decrease inequalities in health.

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 2011

Everyday modern life offers fewer opportunities for outdoor activities and mental restoration. Outdoor activities in urban green spaces might be a promising means to lower levels of stress. Our hypothesis is that individuals' Level of Stress (LS) is related to the interaction between preferences for certain perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) of the outdoor environment and certain types of outdoor activities.

Frontiers in Psychology

IntroductionNature-based solutions (NBS) have been used to address a wide range of urban environmental challenges, an important aspect of which is to improve human health and well-being. However, most relevant studies focus either on what positive influences nature may have or on identifying what natural factors can have these benefits. Few have investigated the sensory composition of nature and the effects of nature in different sensory aspects on human health. Setting out from the multi-sensory perspective, this study aims to explore human behavior and emotional response from visual and aural contact with urban nature.MethodsTaking Jiangjia Art Garden in Chengdu as an example, natural attributes such as its visual (landscape) and aural (sound source) characteristics as well as people’s activities (behavioral responses) were measured by on-site mapping analysis. This was done while a questionnaire-based survey was conducted to investigate people’s emotional responses regarding thei...

International Journal of Built Environment and Sustainability, 2021

A restorative environment tells how certain types of environment help heals people mentally and physically, and many studies in the related field have drawn connection that natural and green places are more likely to be restorative to a person's health, especially when compared those living in cities. In Kuala Lumpur, rapid urbanization and previous poor city planning result in residents becoming increasingly susceptible to mental fatigue and urban stress. Residents frequent for the very few urban parks available as a place to restore themselves, thus the restorative qualities of the urban parks are critical to elevating the quality of life. This study investigates the theory of restorative environment and highlighting its criteria in the context of Kuala Lumpur, by analyzing an existing urban park as a case study: the Perdana Botanical Garden. The methods used include site observation, interview, and a questionnaire to evaluate the quality of the environment as well as user perception. Data from finding confirms the restorative theories as perceived by users and its suggested space criteria and shows that most users come to the park as green therapy and to relieve stress and relax, as they find that the natural scenery and engaging landscaping inside the park are restorative to their overall well-being.

Background: The benefits of walking in natural environments for well‑being are increasingly understood. However, less well known are the impacts different types of natural environments have on psychological well‑being. Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of green walking on psychological wellbeing of middle‑aged women in women park. Methods:The statistical population is 40 women of 48–59 years old, which has gone to one of the health houses of the second district of Tehran for group consultation. Among them, 30 women who had the lowest psychological wellbeing score was chosen as the original samples and were placed randomly into two groups of experimental (15) and control (15). The intervention program was the eighth session of walking in women park of Tehran. Psychological wellbeing questionnaire was implemented in both control and experimental groups, before the first session and after the last session of the hike. Results: The results of ANCOVA test analysis showed a significant difference between psychological wellbeing of experimental group and control group. Also, the study demonstrated that green walking program had positive effects on increasing the personal growth, positive relations with others, self‑acceptance, and purpose in life, but it has no meaningful effect on Environmental mastery.Conclusions: Overall, the present results indicate that a green walking in the parks and green spaces because of good weather conditions, less noise and enhance social relationships can be reduces mental stress, and the middle‑aged women feel mirthfulness, happiness and well‑being.