We provide consensus on the benefits of nature experience for mental health, and a model for inte... more We provide consensus on the benefits of nature experience for mental health, and a model for integrating them into urban design.
de Vries S, Claßen T, Hug S-M, et al. Contribution of Natural Environments to Physical Activity: ... more de Vries S, Claßen T, Hug S-M, et al. Contribution of Natural Environments to Physical Activity: Theory and Evidence Base. In: Nilsson K, Sangster M, Gallis C, et al., eds. Forests, Trees and Human Health. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer; 2011: 205-243
According to the Council for the Rural Area, the Dutch constitution requires the government to of... more According to the Council for the Rural Area, the Dutch constitution requires the government to offer sufficient opportunities for outdoor recreation that are available, reachable and accessible for everyone. An instrument called AVANAR has been developed to identify whether and where shortages in recreational opportunities for walking and cycling exist. Both indicators suggest that many urban neighbourhoods are dealing with severe shortages. However, these indicators are quite normative in content. For the identified shortages to be taken seriously, especially by representatives of opposing interests, empirical corroboration is highly desirable. This corroboration is sought in the negative consequences that one might expect to occur in case of an insufficient supply, such as less satisfactory recreational experiences. Some first analyses suggest that there is indeed a relation between the normatively defined shortages and at least some of the expected negative consequences of ‘real ...
Biodiversity is a cornerstone of human health and well-being. However, while evidence of the cont... more Biodiversity is a cornerstone of human health and well-being. However, while evidence of the contributions of nature to human health is rapidly building, understanding of how biodiversity relates to human health remains limited in important respects. In particular, we need a better grasp on the range of pathways through which biodiversity can influence human health, including those that run through psychological and social processes as well as through biochemical and biophysical processes. Building on evidence from across the natural, social and health sciences, we present a conceptual framework organising the pathways linking biodiversity to human health. Four domains of pathways—both beneficial as well as harmful—link biodiversity with human health: (i) reducing harm (e.g. provision of medicines, decreasing exposure to air and noise pollution); (ii) restoring capacities (e.g. attention restoration and stress reduction); (iii) building capacities (e.g. promoting physical activity, ...
There is growing scientific recognition that contact with nature in general, and contact with urb... more There is growing scientific recognition that contact with nature in general, and contact with urban green more specific, have the potential to positively contribute to human health. For the purpose of developing healthy urban neighbourhoods, this raises the question how to take scientific evidence about these health benefits into account. Accessibility metrics that are well substantiated by empirical evidence are needed. This paper reviews the quantitative and qualitative aspects relevant for accessibility metrics and empirical studies addressing these aspects in relation to health. Studies comparing different types of green space indicators suggest that cumulative opportunities indicators are more consistently positively related to health than residential proximity ones. In contrast to residential proximity indicators, cumulative opportunities indicators take all the green space within a certain distance into account. Comparing results across studies proved to be hard. Green space accessibility was measured in a variety of ways and the green space indicator that was chosen was often not problematized. We feel that it is time for a more function-oriented approach. How precisely does contact with nature impact health and what type and qualities are relevant in this regard? We think this will lead to a new generation of more evidence-based accessibility metrics that will help to advance the field.
Making our cities more sustainable includes the need to make the transition a just one. This pape... more Making our cities more sustainable includes the need to make the transition a just one. This paper focuses on distributive justice with regard to greenspace in cities. Urbanisation and densification will likely result in less greenspace in urban residential areas, especially in deprived neighbourhoods. This is a threat to the aim of healthy and liveable cities, as greenspace has positive effects on human health and well-being. In this study, we show that in The Netherlands, neighbourhoods with a low socioeconomic status already tend to have a lower presence and quality of greenspace than those with a high socioeconomic status. This outcome is independent of the greenness metric that was used. However, depending on the precise greenness metric, socioeconomic differences in greenness between neighbourhoods are smaller in highly urban municipalities than in less urban municipalities, rather than larger. The paper discusses the implications of these outcomes for policy and planning rega...
Nature underpins human well-being in critical ways, especially in health. Nature provides pollina... more Nature underpins human well-being in critical ways, especially in health. Nature provides pollination of nutritious crops, purification of drinking water, protection from floods, and climate security, among other well-studied health benefits. A crucial, yet challenging, research frontier is clarifying how nature promotes physical activity for its many mental and physical health benefits, particularly in densely populated cities with scarce and dwindling access to nature. Here we frame this frontier by conceptually developing a spatial decision-support tool that shows where, how, and for whom urban nature promotes physical activity, to inform urban greening efforts and broader health assessments. We synthesize what is known, present a model framework, and detail the model steps and data needs that can yield generalizable spatial models and an effective tool for assessing the urban nature–physical activity relationship. Current knowledge supports an initial model that can distinguish ...
We provide consensus on the benefits of nature experience for mental health, and a model for inte... more We provide consensus on the benefits of nature experience for mental health, and a model for integrating them into urban design.
de Vries S, Claßen T, Hug S-M, et al. Contribution of Natural Environments to Physical Activity: ... more de Vries S, Claßen T, Hug S-M, et al. Contribution of Natural Environments to Physical Activity: Theory and Evidence Base. In: Nilsson K, Sangster M, Gallis C, et al., eds. Forests, Trees and Human Health. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer; 2011: 205-243
According to the Council for the Rural Area, the Dutch constitution requires the government to of... more According to the Council for the Rural Area, the Dutch constitution requires the government to offer sufficient opportunities for outdoor recreation that are available, reachable and accessible for everyone. An instrument called AVANAR has been developed to identify whether and where shortages in recreational opportunities for walking and cycling exist. Both indicators suggest that many urban neighbourhoods are dealing with severe shortages. However, these indicators are quite normative in content. For the identified shortages to be taken seriously, especially by representatives of opposing interests, empirical corroboration is highly desirable. This corroboration is sought in the negative consequences that one might expect to occur in case of an insufficient supply, such as less satisfactory recreational experiences. Some first analyses suggest that there is indeed a relation between the normatively defined shortages and at least some of the expected negative consequences of ‘real ...
Biodiversity is a cornerstone of human health and well-being. However, while evidence of the cont... more Biodiversity is a cornerstone of human health and well-being. However, while evidence of the contributions of nature to human health is rapidly building, understanding of how biodiversity relates to human health remains limited in important respects. In particular, we need a better grasp on the range of pathways through which biodiversity can influence human health, including those that run through psychological and social processes as well as through biochemical and biophysical processes. Building on evidence from across the natural, social and health sciences, we present a conceptual framework organising the pathways linking biodiversity to human health. Four domains of pathways—both beneficial as well as harmful—link biodiversity with human health: (i) reducing harm (e.g. provision of medicines, decreasing exposure to air and noise pollution); (ii) restoring capacities (e.g. attention restoration and stress reduction); (iii) building capacities (e.g. promoting physical activity, ...
There is growing scientific recognition that contact with nature in general, and contact with urb... more There is growing scientific recognition that contact with nature in general, and contact with urban green more specific, have the potential to positively contribute to human health. For the purpose of developing healthy urban neighbourhoods, this raises the question how to take scientific evidence about these health benefits into account. Accessibility metrics that are well substantiated by empirical evidence are needed. This paper reviews the quantitative and qualitative aspects relevant for accessibility metrics and empirical studies addressing these aspects in relation to health. Studies comparing different types of green space indicators suggest that cumulative opportunities indicators are more consistently positively related to health than residential proximity ones. In contrast to residential proximity indicators, cumulative opportunities indicators take all the green space within a certain distance into account. Comparing results across studies proved to be hard. Green space accessibility was measured in a variety of ways and the green space indicator that was chosen was often not problematized. We feel that it is time for a more function-oriented approach. How precisely does contact with nature impact health and what type and qualities are relevant in this regard? We think this will lead to a new generation of more evidence-based accessibility metrics that will help to advance the field.
Making our cities more sustainable includes the need to make the transition a just one. This pape... more Making our cities more sustainable includes the need to make the transition a just one. This paper focuses on distributive justice with regard to greenspace in cities. Urbanisation and densification will likely result in less greenspace in urban residential areas, especially in deprived neighbourhoods. This is a threat to the aim of healthy and liveable cities, as greenspace has positive effects on human health and well-being. In this study, we show that in The Netherlands, neighbourhoods with a low socioeconomic status already tend to have a lower presence and quality of greenspace than those with a high socioeconomic status. This outcome is independent of the greenness metric that was used. However, depending on the precise greenness metric, socioeconomic differences in greenness between neighbourhoods are smaller in highly urban municipalities than in less urban municipalities, rather than larger. The paper discusses the implications of these outcomes for policy and planning rega...
Nature underpins human well-being in critical ways, especially in health. Nature provides pollina... more Nature underpins human well-being in critical ways, especially in health. Nature provides pollination of nutritious crops, purification of drinking water, protection from floods, and climate security, among other well-studied health benefits. A crucial, yet challenging, research frontier is clarifying how nature promotes physical activity for its many mental and physical health benefits, particularly in densely populated cities with scarce and dwindling access to nature. Here we frame this frontier by conceptually developing a spatial decision-support tool that shows where, how, and for whom urban nature promotes physical activity, to inform urban greening efforts and broader health assessments. We synthesize what is known, present a model framework, and detail the model steps and data needs that can yield generalizable spatial models and an effective tool for assessing the urban nature–physical activity relationship. Current knowledge supports an initial model that can distinguish ...
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