| 81. |
- Nordh, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Components of small urban parks that predict the possibility for restoration
- 2009
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Ingår i: Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. - : Elsevier BV. - 1618-8667 .- 1610-8167. ; 8:4, s. 225-235
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In densifying cities, small green spaces such as pocket parks are likely to become more important as settings for restoration. Well-designed small parks may serve restoration well, but earlier research on restorative environments does not provide detailed information about the specific components of the physical environment that support restoration. In this study we assessed the extent to which hardscape, grass, lower ground vegetation, flowering plants, bushes, trees, water, and size predicted the judged possibility for restoration in small urban green spaces. We took individual parks as the units of analysis. The parks were sampled from Scandinavian cities, and each park was represented by a single photo. Each photo was quantified in terms of the different objective park components and also rated on psychological variables related to restoration. The ratings on the psychological variables being away, fascination, likelihood of restoration, and preference were provided by groups of people familiar with such parks. The variables most predictive of the likelihood of restoration were the percentage of ground surface covered by grass, the amount of trees and bushes visible from the given viewing point, and apparent park size. Formal mediation analyses indicated distinctive patterns of full and partial mediation of the relations between environmental components and restoration likelihood by being away and fascination. Our results provide guidance for the design of small yet restorative urban parks.
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| 82. |
- Nordh, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Urban nature as a resource for public health
- 2012
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Ingår i: Companion to Landscape Studies. - London : Routledge. - 9780415684606 ; , s. 296-307
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Landscape is a vital, synergistic concept which opens up ways of thinking about many of the problems which beset our contemporary world, such as climate change, social alienation, environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity and destruction of heritage. As a concept, landscape does not respect disciplinary boundaries. Indeed, many academic disciplines have found the concept so important, it has been used as a qualifier that delineates whole sub-disciplines: landscape ecology, landscape planning, landscape archaeology, and so forth. In other cases, landscape studies progress under a broader banner, such as heritage studies or cultural geography. Yet it does not always mean the same thing in all of these contexts. The Routledge Companion to Landscape Studies offers the first comprehensive attempt to explore research directions into the many uses and meanings of ‘landscape’.The Companion contains thirty-nine original contributions from leading scholars within the field, which have been divided into four parts: Experiencing Landscape; Landscape Culture and Heritage; Landscape, Society and Justice; and Design and Planning for Landscape. Topics covered range from phenomenological approaches to landscape, to the consideration of landscape as a repository of human culture; from ideas of identity and belonging, to issues of power and hegemony; and from discussions of participatory planning and design to the call for new imaginaries in a time of global and environmental crisis. Each contribution explores the future development of different conceptual and theoretical approaches, as well as recent empirical contributions to knowledge and understanding. Collectively, they encourage dialogue across disciplinary barriers and reflection upon the implications of research findings for local, national and international policy in relation to landscape.This Companion provides up-to-date critical reviews of state of the art perspectives across this multifaceted field, embracing disciplines such as anthropology, archaeology, cultural studies, geography, landscape planning, landscape architecture, countryside management, forestry, heritage studies, ecology, and fine art. It serves as an invaluable point of reference for scholars, researchers and graduate students alike, engaging in the field of landscape studies.
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| 83. |
- Raanaas, Ruth K., et al.
(författare)
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Effects of an indoor foliage plant intervention on patient well-being during a residential rehabilitation program
- 2010
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Ingår i: Hortscience. - 0018-5345 .- 2327-9834. ; 45:3, s. 387-392
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Effects of an indoor plant intervention in a Norwegian rehabilitation center were assessed in a quasi-experiment. During a 2-year period, coronary and pulmonary patients (N = 282) completed self-report measures of health, subjective well-being, and emotion on arrival, after 2 weeks, and at the end of a 4-week program. The intervention involved the addition of indoor plants for the second year. On average, patient physical and mental health improved during the program, but the addition of plants did not increase the degree of improvement. Subjective well-being did, however, increase more in patients who went through their program after the addition of plants, although the effect was only apparent in the pulmonary patients. The patients reported more satisfaction with indoor plants and the interior generally after the intervention. Room for the intervention to affect outcomes may have been limited by the well-designed interior and the center's location in a scenic mountain area, but these favorable features of the context apparently did not negate the potential for indoor plants to contribute to patient well-being.
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| 84. |
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| 85. |
- Richardson, Elizabeth A., et al.
(författare)
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Green cities and health : A question of scale?
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. - : BMJ. - 0143-005X .- 1470-2738. ; 66:2, s. 160-165
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Cities are expanding and accommodating an increasing proportion of the world's population. It is important to identify features of urban form that promote the health of city dwellers. Access to green space has been associated with health benefits at both individual and neighbourhood level. We investigated whether a relationship between green space coverage and selected mortality rates exists at the city level in the USA.Methods An ecological cross-sectional study. A detailed land use data set was used to quantify green space for the largest US cities (n=49, combined population of 43 million). Linear regression models were used to examine the association between city-level ‘greenness’ and city-level standardised rates of mortality from heart disease, diabetes, lung cancer, motor vehicle fatalities and all causes, after adjustment for confounders.Results There was no association between greenness and mortality from heart disease, diabetes, lung cancer or automobile accidents. Mortality from all causes was significantly higher in greener cities.Conclusions While considerable evidence suggests that access to green space yields health benefits, we found no such evidence at the scale of the American city. In the USA, greener cities tend also to be more sprawling and have higher levels of car dependency. Any benefits that the green space might offer seem easily eclipsed by these other conditions and the lifestyles that accompany them. The result merits further investigation as it has important implications for how we increase green space access in our cities.
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| 86. |
- Samuelsson, Karl, Doktorand, et al.
(författare)
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Visiting nearby natural settings supported wellbeing during Sweden's "soft-touch" pandemic restrictions
- 2021
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Ingår i: Landscape and Urban Planning. - : Elsevier. - 0169-2046 .- 1872-6062. ; 214
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The coronavirus pandemic entailed varying restrictions on access, movement and social behavior in populations around the world. Knowledge about how people coped with "soft-touch" restrictions can inform urban spatial planning strategies that enhance resilience against future pandemics. We analyzed data from an online place based survey on 2845 places across Sweden that respondents abstained from visiting, visited with similar frequency, or visited more frequently in spring 2020 as compared to before the pandemic. In spatial logistic regression models, we relate geographical and sociodemographic properties of places (fields, forests, water, residential population density and daytime population density) to self-perceived changes in wellbeing from visiting the given place less or more often, respectively. Abstaining from visiting places with natural features located in areas of high residential density was associated with a self-perceived negative influence on wellbeing. Yet, fields, forests and water were strongly associated with places people claimed wellbeing benefits from during pandemic restrictions. The further a visited place was from the respondent's home, the more likely it was to have a positive wellbeing influence. As an illustrative case, we map our models onto the landscape of Stockholm, showing that some neighborhoods are likely more resilient than others when coping with pandemic restrictions. Both the most and least resilient neighborhoods span the socio-economic spectrum. Urban planning will do well to enable equitable, easy access to natural settings by foot or bike, to increase pandemic preparedness as well as support climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection.
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| 87. |
- Shanahan, Danielle F., et al.
(författare)
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Nature-Based Interventions for Improving Health and Wellbeing : The Purpose, the People and the Outcomes
- 2019
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Ingår i: Sports. - : MDPI AG. - 2075-4663. ; 7:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Engagement with nature is an important part of many people's lives, and the health and wellbeing benefits of nature-based activities are becoming increasingly recognised across disciplines from city planning to medicine. Despite this, urbanisation, challenges of modern life and environmental degradation are leading to a reduction in both the quantity and the quality of nature experiences. Nature-based health interventions (NBIs) can facilitate behavioural change through a somewhat structured promotion of nature-based experiences and, in doing so, promote improved physical, mental and social health and wellbeing. We conducted a Delphi expert elicitation process with 19 experts from seven countries (all named authors on this paper) to identify the different forms that such interventions take, the potential health outcomes and the target beneficiaries. In total, 27 NBIs were identified, aiming to prevent illness, promote wellbeing and treat specific physical, mental or social health and wellbeing conditions. These interventions were broadly categorized into those that change the environment in which people live, work, learn, recreate or heal (for example, the provision of gardens in hospitals or parks in cities) and those that change behaviour (for example, engaging people through organized programmes or other activities). We also noted the range of factors (such as socioeconomic variation) that will inevitably influence the extent to which these interventions succeed. We conclude with a call for research to identify the drivers influencing the effectiveness of NBIs in enhancing health and wellbeing.
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| 88. |
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| 89. |
- Säfström, My, et al.
(författare)
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Psychological detachment in the relationship between job stressors and strain
- 2013
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Ingår i: Behavioral Sciences. - : MDPI AG. - 2076-328X. ; 3:3, s. 418-433
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigated the mediating versus moderating role of psychological detachment in the relationship between job stressors and psychological strain. Our sample consisted of 173 university students invested in challenging programs of advanced professional studies, who could find it difficult to detach from work. Hierarchical regression analyses of cross-sectional survey data affirmed the role of psychological detachment as a mediator in the relationship between job demands and perceived stress. Detachment also mediated the relationship between job demands and satisfaction with life, although the association disappeared when controlling for negative affectivity. Detachment did not mediate relationships between job demands and cognitive failures. Psychological detachment did not moderate any of the investigated relationships. The study contributes to a view of psychological detachment as less subject to individual differences than to the imposition of stressors in the given context.
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| 90. |
- van den Berg, Agnes E., et al.
(författare)
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Preference for nature in urbanized societies : Stress, restoration, and the pursuit of sustainability
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Social Issues. - New York : Plenum P.. - 0022-4537 .- 1540-4560. ; 63:1, s. 79-96
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Urbanicity presents a challenge for the pursuit of sustainability. High settlement density may offer some environmental, economic, and social advantages, but it can impose psychological demands that people find excessive. These demands of urban life have stimulated a desire for contact with nature through suburban residence, leading to planning and transportation practices that have profound implications for the pursuit of sustainability. Some might dismiss people's desire for contact with nature as the result of an anti-urban bias in conjunction with a romantic view of nature. However, research in environmental psychology suggests that people's desire for contact with nature serves an important adaptive function, namely, psychological restoration. Based on this insight, we offer a perspective on an underlying practical challenge: designing communities that balance settlement density with satisfactory access to nature experience. We discuss research on four issues: how people tend to believe that nature is restorative; how restoration needs and beliefs shape environmental preferences; how well people actually achieve restoration in urban and natural environments; and how contact with nature can promote health. In closing, we consider urban nature as a design option that promotes urban sustainability.
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