Not All Green Space Is Created Equal: Biodiversity Predicts Psychological Restorative Benefits From Urban Green Space
Contemporary epidemiological methods testing the associations between green space and psychological well-being treat all vegetation cover as equal. However, there is very good reason to expect that variations in ecological “quality” (number of species, integrity of ecological processes) may influenc...
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-11-01
|
Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02320/full |
id |
doaj-55923db6488d47cab627f2b42b4e046a |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-55923db6488d47cab627f2b42b4e046a2020-11-24T23:01:13ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782018-11-01910.3389/fpsyg.2018.02320391823Not All Green Space Is Created Equal: Biodiversity Predicts Psychological Restorative Benefits From Urban Green SpaceEmma Wood0Alice Harsant1Martin Dallimer2Anna Cronin de Chavez3Rosemary R. C. McEachan4Christopher Hassall5School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United KingdomSchool of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United KingdomSustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, United KingdomBradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, United KingdomBradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, United KingdomSchool of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United KingdomContemporary epidemiological methods testing the associations between green space and psychological well-being treat all vegetation cover as equal. However, there is very good reason to expect that variations in ecological “quality” (number of species, integrity of ecological processes) may influence the link between access to green space and benefits to human health and well-being. We test the relationship between green space quality and restorative benefit in an inner city urban population in Bradford, United Kingdom. We selected 12 urban parks for study where we carried out botanical and faunal surveys to quantify biodiversity and assessed the site facilities of the green space (cleanliness, provision of amenities). We also conducted 128 surveys with park users to quantify psychological restoration based on four self-reported measure of general restoration, attention-grabbing distractions, being away from everyday life, and site preference. We present three key results. First, there is a positive association between site facilities and biodiversity. Second, restorative benefit is predicted by biodiversity, which explained 43% of the variance in restorative benefit across the parks, with minimal input from other variables. Third, the benefits accrued through access to green space were unrelated to age, gender, and ethnic background. The results add to a small but growing body of evidence that emphasize the role of nature in contributing to the well-being of urban populations and, hence, the need to consider biodiversity in the design of landscapes that enhance multiple ecosystem services.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02320/fullgreen spacepsychological restorationbiodiversityparkurbancity |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Emma Wood Alice Harsant Martin Dallimer Anna Cronin de Chavez Rosemary R. C. McEachan Christopher Hassall |
spellingShingle |
Emma Wood Alice Harsant Martin Dallimer Anna Cronin de Chavez Rosemary R. C. McEachan Christopher Hassall Not All Green Space Is Created Equal: Biodiversity Predicts Psychological Restorative Benefits From Urban Green Space Frontiers in Psychology green space psychological restoration biodiversity park urban city |
author_facet |
Emma Wood Alice Harsant Martin Dallimer Anna Cronin de Chavez Rosemary R. C. McEachan Christopher Hassall |
author_sort |
Emma Wood |
title |
Not All Green Space Is Created Equal: Biodiversity Predicts Psychological Restorative Benefits From Urban Green Space |
title_short |
Not All Green Space Is Created Equal: Biodiversity Predicts Psychological Restorative Benefits From Urban Green Space |
title_full |
Not All Green Space Is Created Equal: Biodiversity Predicts Psychological Restorative Benefits From Urban Green Space |
title_fullStr |
Not All Green Space Is Created Equal: Biodiversity Predicts Psychological Restorative Benefits From Urban Green Space |
title_full_unstemmed |
Not All Green Space Is Created Equal: Biodiversity Predicts Psychological Restorative Benefits From Urban Green Space |
title_sort |
not all green space is created equal: biodiversity predicts psychological restorative benefits from urban green space |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Psychology |
issn |
1664-1078 |
publishDate |
2018-11-01 |
description |
Contemporary epidemiological methods testing the associations between green space and psychological well-being treat all vegetation cover as equal. However, there is very good reason to expect that variations in ecological “quality” (number of species, integrity of ecological processes) may influence the link between access to green space and benefits to human health and well-being. We test the relationship between green space quality and restorative benefit in an inner city urban population in Bradford, United Kingdom. We selected 12 urban parks for study where we carried out botanical and faunal surveys to quantify biodiversity and assessed the site facilities of the green space (cleanliness, provision of amenities). We also conducted 128 surveys with park users to quantify psychological restoration based on four self-reported measure of general restoration, attention-grabbing distractions, being away from everyday life, and site preference. We present three key results. First, there is a positive association between site facilities and biodiversity. Second, restorative benefit is predicted by biodiversity, which explained 43% of the variance in restorative benefit across the parks, with minimal input from other variables. Third, the benefits accrued through access to green space were unrelated to age, gender, and ethnic background. The results add to a small but growing body of evidence that emphasize the role of nature in contributing to the well-being of urban populations and, hence, the need to consider biodiversity in the design of landscapes that enhance multiple ecosystem services. |
topic |
green space psychological restoration biodiversity park urban city |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02320/full |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT emmawood notallgreenspaceiscreatedequalbiodiversitypredictspsychologicalrestorativebenefitsfromurbangreenspace AT aliceharsant notallgreenspaceiscreatedequalbiodiversitypredictspsychologicalrestorativebenefitsfromurbangreenspace AT martindallimer notallgreenspaceiscreatedequalbiodiversitypredictspsychologicalrestorativebenefitsfromurbangreenspace AT annacronindechavez notallgreenspaceiscreatedequalbiodiversitypredictspsychologicalrestorativebenefitsfromurbangreenspace AT rosemaryrcmceachan notallgreenspaceiscreatedequalbiodiversitypredictspsychologicalrestorativebenefitsfromurbangreenspace AT christopherhassall notallgreenspaceiscreatedequalbiodiversitypredictspsychologicalrestorativebenefitsfromurbangreenspace |
_version_ |
1725640275519340544 |