The Regeneration of Urban Blue Spaces: A Public Health Intervention? Reviewing the Evidence.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Bruckner A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8792750 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundUrban green spaces are important for human health, but they may expose visitors to tick-borne diseases. This not only presents a potential public health challenge but also undermines the expected public health gains from urban green spaces. The aim of this study is to assess the public health risk of tick-borne diseases in an urban green space used for recreation in Stockholm, Sweden.MethodsWe used a mixed method approach identifying both the magnitude of the tick hazard and the extent of the human exposure to tick-borne diseases. At six entry points to an urban green space, we sampled ticks and documented microhabitat conditions from five randomly assigned 2 m × 2 m plots. Surrounding habitat data was analyzed using geographical information system (GIS). Nymphs and adult ticks were tested for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasma phagocytophilum using TaqMan qPCR. Positive B. burgdorferi (s.l.) ticks were further analyzed by nested PCR amplification and sequence analysis. Population census data and visitor count data were used to estimate the degree of human exposure to tick-borne diseases. To further understand the degree to which visitors get in contact with infected ticks we also conducted interviews with visitors to green spaces.ResultsHigh tick densities were commonly found in humid broadleaved forest with low field vegetation. High pathogen prevalence was significantly correlated with increasing proportions of artificial areas. Integrating the tick hazard with human exposure we found that the public health risk of tick-borne diseases was moderate to high at most of the studied entry points. Many of the visitors frequently used urban green spaces. Walking was the most common activity, but visitors also engaged in activities with higher risk for tick encounters. Individual protective measures were connected to specific recreational activities such as picking berries or mushrooms.ConclusionsThe number of visitors can be combined with tick inventory data and molecular analyses of pathogen prevalence to make crude estimations of the public health risk of tick-borne diseases in urban green spaces. The risk of encountering infected ticks is omnipresent during recreational activities in urban green spaces, highlighting the need for public health campaigns to reduce the risk of tick-borne diseases.
| S-EPMC11015579 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Risk events frequently occur in "complex urban public spaces" (CUPSs) and cause serious economic losses and casualties. To reduce the risks and enhance the system resilience, this paper formulates a theoretical framework to assess the resilience of CUPSs. Resilience is defined as the ratio of preparedness to vulnerability, according to the implication of the concept. Three-level practical indicator systems were established for these two dimensions, respectively. Furthermore, a hybrid approach combining the Analytic Network Process (ANP) and the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) was adopted. The Chongqing West Railway Station (the Station (W)) and the Lianglukou Rail Transit Station (the Station (L)) were used for a case study. The results showed that the Chongqing West Railway Station was more resilient to risks than the Lianglukou Rail Transit Station. Therefore, the proposed theoretical framework could be applied in assessing the resilience level of CUPSs. Resilience improvement strategies can be formulated according to the assessment results. Furthermore, the practical indicators could also provide references for urban disaster management.
| S-EPMC7014252 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesTo synthesise data on the impact on health and key socioeconomic determinants of health and health inequalities reported in evaluations of national UK regeneration programmes.Data sourcesEight electronic databases were searched from 1980 to 2004 (IBSS, COPAC, HMIC, IDOX, INSIDE, Medline, Urbadisc/Accompline, Web of Knowledge). Bibliographies of located documents and relevant web sites were searched. Experts and government departmental libraries were also contacted.Review methodsEvaluations that reported achievements drawing on data from at least two target areas of a national urban regeneration programme in the UK were included. Process evaluations and evaluations reporting only business outcomes were excluded. All methods of evaluation were included. Impact data on direct health outcomes and direct measures of socioeconomic determinants of health were narratively synthesised.Results19 evaluations reported impacts on health or socioeconomic determinants of health; data from 10 evaluations were synthesised. Three evaluations reported health impacts; in one evaluation three of four measures of self reported health deteriorated, typically by around 4%. Two other evaluations reported overall reductions in mortality rates. Most socioeconomic outcomes assessed showed an overall improvement after regeneration investment; however, the effect size was often similar to national trends. In addition, some evaluations reported adverse impacts.ConclusionThere is little evidence of the impact of national urban regeneration investment on socioeconomic or health outcomes. Where impacts have been assessed, these are often small and positive but adverse impacts have also occurred. Impact data from future evaluations are required to inform healthy public policy; in the meantime work to exploit and synthesise "best available" data is required.
| S-EPMC2577369 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Public green spaces (PGSs) have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of urban residents. However, their accessibility can be limited due to high urbanisation pressures and inadequate or insufficient regulatory provisions. This problem has been recognised for Central European cities, of which Wrocław is an example, where the provision of PGS accessibility has not received major attention in recent decades, and the planning system has been in constant transformation since the transition from a centrally planned to a free-market economy. This study therefore aimed to examine the distribution and accessibility of PGSs in the expanding area of Wrocław today and upon implementation of the plans under the proposed standards. These analyses were performed using the QGIS application, network analysis, and the ISO-Area as polygon algorithm. The findings revealed a conspicuous lack of available PGSs, which includes areas above 2 ha, such as district and neighbourhood parks. New PGSs are now being planned, but even so, part of the residential areas will remain outside their catchment zone. The results obtained provide strong evidence that it is essential that standards should be a tool implemented in urban planning, and that the adopted procedure can be transferred to other cities.
| S-EPMC9960964 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Although the benefits from exposure to urban green spaces (UGS) are increasingly reported, there are important knowledge gaps in the nature of UGS-health relationships. One such unknown area is the dependence of UGS-health associations on the types of UGS studied, the way they are quantified, and the spatial scale used in the analysis. These knowledge gaps have important ramifications on our ability to develop generalizations to promote implementation and facilitate comparative studies across different socio-cultural and socio-economic contexts. We conducted a study in Singapore to examine the dependence of UGS-health associations on the metrics for quantifying UGS (vegetation cover, canopy cover and park area) in different types of buffer area (circular, nested and network) at different spatial scales. A population-based household survey (n = 1000) was used to collect information on self-reported health and perception and usage pattern of UGS. The results showed that although all three UGS metrics were positively related to mental health at certain scales, overall, canopy cover showed the strongest associations with mental health at most scales. There also appears to be minimum and maximum threshold levels of spatial scale at which UGS and health have significant associations, with the strongest associations consistently shown between 400 m to 1600 m in different buffer types. We discuss the significance of these results for UGS-health studies and applications in UGS planning for improved health of urban dwellers.
| S-EPMC6406785 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Living near, recreating in, and feeling psychologically connected to, the natural world are all associated with better mental health, but many exposure-related questions remain. Using data from an 18-country survey (n = 16,307) we explored associations between multiple measures of mental health (positive well-being, mental distress, depression/anxiety medication use) and: (a) exposures (residential/recreational visits) to different natural settings (green/inland-blue/coastal-blue spaces); and (b) nature connectedness, across season and country. People who lived in greener/coastal neighbourhoods reported higher positive well-being, but this association largely disappeared when recreational visits were controlled for. Frequency of recreational visits to green, inland-blue, and coastal-blue spaces in the last 4 weeks were all positively associated with positive well-being and negatively associated with mental distress. Associations with green space visits were relatively consistent across seasons and countries but associations with blue space visits showed greater heterogeneity. Nature connectedness was also positively associated with positive well-being and negatively associated with mental distress and was, along with green space visits, associated with a lower likelihood of using medication for depression. By contrast inland-blue space visits were associated with a greater likelihood of using anxiety medication. Results highlight the benefits of multi-exposure, multi-response, multi-country studies in exploring complexity in nature-health associations.
| S-EPMC8076244 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Sound environment plays an important role in urban open spaces, yet studies on the effects of perception of the sound environment on crowd behaviors have been limited. The aim of this study, therefore, is to explore how music, which is considered an important soundscape element, affects crowd behaviors in urban open spaces. On-site observations were performed at a 100 m × 70 m urban leisure square in Harbin, China. Typical music was used to study the effects of perception of the sound environment on crowd behaviors; then, these behaviors were classified into movement (passing by and walking around) and non-movement behaviors (sitting). The results show that the path of passing by in an urban leisure square with music was more centralized than without music. Without music, 8.3% of people passing by walked near the edge of the square, whereas with music, this percentage was zero. In terms of the speed of passing by behavior, no significant difference was observed with the presence or absence of background music. Regarding the effect of music on walking around behavior in the square, the mean area and perimeter when background music was played were smaller than without background music. The mean speed of those exhibiting walking around behavior with background music in the square was 0.296 m/s slower than when no background music was played. For those exhibiting sitting behavior, when background music was not present, crowd density showed no variation based on the distance from the sound source. When music was present, it was observed that as the distance from the sound source increased, crowd density of those sitting behavior decreased accordingly.
| S-EPMC5934855 | biostudies-other
Project description:The analysis of urban health transformations must include the study of how neighbourhoods are influenced by demographic changes such as immigration. The objective of this study was to analyse how the relationship between native and immigrant residents in neighbourhoods with different socio-economic levels influenced the use of urban health assets, such as public spaces and food stores. Three Madrid neighbourhoods of different socio-economic levels were selected and studied by conducting 37 semi-structured interviews and 29 focus groups. Data analysis was based on qualitative sequential discourse. The main finding was that the presence of immigrants in Madrid neighbourhoods, especially with low and medium socio-economic levels, was perceived negatively, affecting the use of public spaces and food stores. This negative perception unfolded in three dimensions: (1) difficulties for natives and immigrants to live together; (2) limitations on using public spaces caused by a feeling of insecurity; (3) criticism of immigrant food stores, especially Chinese-run food stores. Our findings showed a worrisome lack of social contact between immigrants and native residents, which affected the use of urban health assets, such as public spaces and food stores.
| S-EPMC8352102 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Access and exposure to public green space might be critical to health promotion and prevention of mental ill health. However, it is uncertain if differential health and mental health benefits are associated with undertaking different activities in public green space. We evaluated the health and wellbeing benefits of different activities in different locations of public green spaces in urban and semi-urban areas. We used a mixed-methods before-and-after design. Volunteers at three conservation sites were recruited and took part in group guided walks, practical conservation tasks or citizen science. Repeated measures one-way ANOVAs with Bonferroni correction assessed the relationship between location and activity type on change in acute subjective mood from pre- to post-activity, measured with the UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist (UWIST-MACL). Qualitative semi-structured interviews were undertaken and analysed thematically to explore participants' perceptions about the health and wellbeing benefits of activities in public green space. Forty-five participants were recruited, leading to 65 independent observations. Walking, conservation and citizen science in public green space were associated with improved mood. Across all participants acute subjective mood improved across all domains of the UWIST-MACL. There was a significant association between reduction in stress and location (p = 0.009). Qualitatively participants reported that conservation and citizen science conferred co-benefits to the environment and individual health and well-being and were perceived as purposeful. Undertaking purposeful activity in public green space has the potential to promote health and prevent mental ill health.
| S-EPMC6696054 | biostudies-literature
Project description:INTRODUCTION:Proximity and access to water have long been central to human culture and accordingly deliver countless societal benefits. Over 200 million people live on Europe's coastline, and aquatic environments are the top recreational destination in the region. In terms of public health, interactions with 'blue space' (eg, coasts, rivers, lakes) are often considered solely in terms of risk (eg, drowning, microbial pollution). Exposure to blue space can, however, promote health and well-being and prevent disease, although underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. AIMS AND METHODS:The BlueHealth project aims to understand the relationships between exposure to blue space and health and well-being, to map and quantify the public health impacts of changes to both natural blue spaces and associated urban infrastructure in Europe, and to provide evidence-based information to policymakers on how to maximise health benefits associated with interventions in and around aquatic environments. To achieve these aims, an evidence base will be created through systematic reviews, analyses of secondary data sets and analyses of new data collected through a bespoke international survey and a wide range of community-level interventions. We will also explore how to deliver the benefits associated with blue spaces to those without direct access through the use of virtual reality. Scenarios will be developed that allow the evaluation of health impacts in plausible future societal contexts and changing environments. BlueHealth will develop key inputs into policymaking and land/water-use planning towards more salutogenic and sustainable uses of blue space, particularly in urban areas. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:Throughout the BlueHealth project, ethics review and approval are obtained for all relevant aspects of the study by the local ethics committees prior to any work being initiated and an ethics expert has been appointed to the project advisory board. So far, ethical approval has been obtained for the BlueHealth International Survey and for community-level interventions taking place in Spain, Italy and the UK. Engagement of stakeholders, including the public, involves citizens in many aspects of the project. Results of all individual studies within the BlueHealth project will be published with open access. After full anonymisation and application of any measures necessary to prevent disclosure, data generated in the project will be deposited into open data repositories of the partner institutions, in line with a formal data management plan. Other knowledge and tools developed in the project will be made available via the project website (www.bluehealth2020.eu). Project results will ultimately provide key inputs to planning and policy relating to blue space, further stimulating the integration of environmental and health considerations into decision-making, such that blue infrastructure is developed across Europe with both public health and the environment in mind.
| S-EPMC5726080 | biostudies-other