Assessing the Correlation between Neighborhood Green Areas and the Perceived Mental Health of Residents in Metropolitan Areas
Abstract
Background: Urban parks play a noticeable role in city areas for making connections between nature and the residents of cities, especially from a mental health perspective. This paper investigated how the number and types of urban parks impact city residents' mental health.
Method: This study used the data collected by the Community Health Survey in Seoul, South Korea in 2020 (n=22915). The type and number of local parks were categorized based on each district, and three variables of mental health were selected, including ‘subjective health awareness’, ‘stress awareness’ and ‘depression rate’. Correlation and interaction analyses were conducted to explore the relationship between variables.
Result: The data indicated that both the quantity and types of the urban parks were associated with mental health of the residents. Positive mental health is likely to be associated with higher density of local parks in a district. It seems that parks characterized by children's activity and have nature-focused design, are more effective in changing the mental health of residents.
Discussion: The research demonstrates a positive relationship between the quantity of urban parks and mental health in the scale of city districts. However, such a correlation can differ based on the type of parks, as well as the quantity of greenery in an area.
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13. Brinck A, Engelke C, Neuhäuser H, Molénat G, Rösner H, Langmaack E, Nembach E (1998). Dislocation processes in Fe3Al investigated by transmission electron, scanning force and optical microscopy. Mater Sci Eng, 258(1-2):32-6.
14. Annerstedt M, Östergren PO, Björk J, Grahn P, Skärbäck E, Währborg P (2012). Green qualities in the neighbour-hood and mental health–results from a longitudinal cohort study in Southern Sweden. BMC Public Health, 12(1):1-3.
15. Wood L, Hooper P, Foster S, Bull F (2017). Public green spaces and positive mental health–investigating the relationship be-tween access, quantity and types of parks and mental wellbeing. Health Place, 48:63-71.
16. Mitchell R (2013). Is physical activity in natu-ral environments better for mental health than physical activity in other environ-ments. Soc Sci Med, 91:130-4.
17. Heidarzadeh E, Rezaei M, Haghi MR, Shabanian H, Lee Y (2021). Assessing the impact of outdoor activities on mental wellbeing; focusing on the walking path in urban area. Iran J Public Health, 50(10):2132.
18. Rezaei M, Kim D, Alizadeh A, Rokni L (2021). Evaluating the mental-health posi-tive impacts of agritourism; A case study from South Korea. Sustainability, 13(16):8712.
19. Kaplan R (1985). Nature at the doorstep: Residential satisfaction and the nearby environment. J Archit Plan Res, 1:115-27.
20. Kaplan S, Kaplan R (1989). The visual envi-ronment: Public participation in design and planning. J Soc Issues, 45(1):59-86.
21. Cordell HK, Tarrant MA, Bergstrom JC (1998). How the public views wilderness: more results from the USA survey on recreation and the environment. Int J Wil-derness, 3(3):28-31.
22. KOSIS (2020). Community Health Survey. Available from: https://kosis.kr/statisticsList/statisticsListIn-dex.do?parentId=F.1&vwcd=MT_ZTITLE&menuId=M_01_01&outLink=Y&entrType=#content-group
23. Seoul Metropolitan Government (2020).Seoul Park Statistics. Available from: https://data.seoul.go.kr/dataList/10052/S/2/datasetView.do#
24. Gascon M, Triguero-Mas M, Martínez D, Dadvand P, Forns J, Plasència A, Nieu-wenhuijsen MJ (2015). Mental health benefits of long-term exposure to resi-dential green and blue spaces: a systemat-ic review. Int J Environ Res, 12(4):4354-79.
25. Bratman GN, Daily GC, Levy BJ, Gross JJ (2015). The benefits of nature experience: Improved affect and cognition. Landsc Urban Plan, 138:41-50.
26. Rezaei M, Emmanuel N, Kim J, Kim DH (2021). Analyzing the Impact of Green Roof Functions on the Citizens’ Mental Health in Metropolitan Cities. Iran J Public Health, 50(5):900.
27. Alcock I, White MP, Wheeler BW, Fleming LE, Depledge MH (2014). Longitudinal effects on mental health of moving to greener and less green urban areas. Envi-ron Sci Technol, 48(2):1247-55.
28. Astell-Burt T, Feng X, Kolt GS (2013). Men-tal health benefits of neighbourhood green space are stronger among physical-ly active adults in middle-to-older age: ev-idence from 260,061 Australians. Prev Med, 57(5):601-6.
2. Parr H (2007). Mental health, nature work, and social inclusion. Environ Plan D, 25(3):537-61.
3. Maas J, Van Dillen SM, Verheij RA, Groe-newegen PP (2009). Social contacts as a possible mechanism behind the relation between green space and health. Health Place, 15(2):586-95.
4. Maas J, Verheij RA, Groenewegen PP, De Vries S, Spreeuwenberg P (2006). Green space, urbanity, and health: how strong is the relation?. J Epidemiol. Community Health, 60(7):587-92.
5. James P, Hart JE, Banay RF, Laden F (2016). Exposure to greenness and mortality in a nationwide prospective cohort study of women. Environ. Health Perspect, 124(9):1344-52.
6. O’Sullivan N, Donnelly A, MacIntyre T, Warrington G (2016). Investigating the Impact of Green Exercise on population health and wellbeing in a small communi-ty in Ireland–a novel approach using a natural laboratory ecosystem. Environ. Health Int, 18(1):34-40.
7. Annerstedt M, Östergren PO, Björk J, Grahn P, Skärbäck E, Währborg P (2012). Green qualities in the neighbour-hood and mental health–results from a longitudinal cohort study in Southern Sweden. BMC Public Health, 12(1):1-3.
8. Richardson EA, Pearce J, Mitchell R, King-ham S (2013). Role of physical activity in the relationship between urban green space and health. Public health, 127(4):318-24.
9. Vujcic M, Tomicevic-Dubljevic J, Zivojinovic I, Toskovic O (2019). Connection be-tween urban green areas and visitors’ physical and mental well-being. Urban For Urban Green, 40:299-307.
10. World Health Organization (2016). Urban green spaces and health. World Health Organiza-tion. Regional Office for Europe.
11. Maller C, Townsend M, Pryor A, Brown P, St Leger L (2006). Healthy nature healthy people:‘contact with nature’as an up-stream health promotion intervention for populations. Health Promot Int, 21(1):45-54.
12. Francis J, Wood LJ, Knuiman M, Giles-Corti B (2012). Quality or quantity? Ex-ploring the relationship between Public Open Space attributes and mental health in Perth, Western Australia. Soc Sci Med,74(10):1570-7.
13. Brinck A, Engelke C, Neuhäuser H, Molénat G, Rösner H, Langmaack E, Nembach E (1998). Dislocation processes in Fe3Al investigated by transmission electron, scanning force and optical microscopy. Mater Sci Eng, 258(1-2):32-6.
14. Annerstedt M, Östergren PO, Björk J, Grahn P, Skärbäck E, Währborg P (2012). Green qualities in the neighbour-hood and mental health–results from a longitudinal cohort study in Southern Sweden. BMC Public Health, 12(1):1-3.
15. Wood L, Hooper P, Foster S, Bull F (2017). Public green spaces and positive mental health–investigating the relationship be-tween access, quantity and types of parks and mental wellbeing. Health Place, 48:63-71.
16. Mitchell R (2013). Is physical activity in natu-ral environments better for mental health than physical activity in other environ-ments. Soc Sci Med, 91:130-4.
17. Heidarzadeh E, Rezaei M, Haghi MR, Shabanian H, Lee Y (2021). Assessing the impact of outdoor activities on mental wellbeing; focusing on the walking path in urban area. Iran J Public Health, 50(10):2132.
18. Rezaei M, Kim D, Alizadeh A, Rokni L (2021). Evaluating the mental-health posi-tive impacts of agritourism; A case study from South Korea. Sustainability, 13(16):8712.
19. Kaplan R (1985). Nature at the doorstep: Residential satisfaction and the nearby environment. J Archit Plan Res, 1:115-27.
20. Kaplan S, Kaplan R (1989). The visual envi-ronment: Public participation in design and planning. J Soc Issues, 45(1):59-86.
21. Cordell HK, Tarrant MA, Bergstrom JC (1998). How the public views wilderness: more results from the USA survey on recreation and the environment. Int J Wil-derness, 3(3):28-31.
22. KOSIS (2020). Community Health Survey. Available from: https://kosis.kr/statisticsList/statisticsListIn-dex.do?parentId=F.1&vwcd=MT_ZTITLE&menuId=M_01_01&outLink=Y&entrType=#content-group
23. Seoul Metropolitan Government (2020).Seoul Park Statistics. Available from: https://data.seoul.go.kr/dataList/10052/S/2/datasetView.do#
24. Gascon M, Triguero-Mas M, Martínez D, Dadvand P, Forns J, Plasència A, Nieu-wenhuijsen MJ (2015). Mental health benefits of long-term exposure to resi-dential green and blue spaces: a systemat-ic review. Int J Environ Res, 12(4):4354-79.
25. Bratman GN, Daily GC, Levy BJ, Gross JJ (2015). The benefits of nature experience: Improved affect and cognition. Landsc Urban Plan, 138:41-50.
26. Rezaei M, Emmanuel N, Kim J, Kim DH (2021). Analyzing the Impact of Green Roof Functions on the Citizens’ Mental Health in Metropolitan Cities. Iran J Public Health, 50(5):900.
27. Alcock I, White MP, Wheeler BW, Fleming LE, Depledge MH (2014). Longitudinal effects on mental health of moving to greener and less green urban areas. Envi-ron Sci Technol, 48(2):1247-55.
28. Astell-Burt T, Feng X, Kolt GS (2013). Men-tal health benefits of neighbourhood green space are stronger among physical-ly active adults in middle-to-older age: ev-idence from 260,061 Australians. Prev Med, 57(5):601-6.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 51 No 9 (2022) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v51i9.10557 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Urban park Mental health Green area Metropolitan Seoul | ||
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
How to Cite
1.
Choi K-A, Rezaei M. Assessing the Correlation between Neighborhood Green Areas and the Perceived Mental Health of Residents in Metropolitan Areas. Iran J Public Health. 2022;51(9):2027-2033.
