Abstract
There is increasing interest in experiences of urban forests because relevant studies have revealed that forest settings can promote mental well-being. The mental response to a forest experience can be evaluated by facial expressions, but relevant knowledge is limited at large geographical scales. In this study, a dataset of 2824 photos, detailing the evaluated age (toddler, youth, middle-age, and senior citizen) and gender of urban forest visitors, was collected from Sina Weibo (a social media application similar to Twitter in China) between 1–7 October 2018, in 12 randomly chosen cities in China. Happy and sad expressions were rated as scores by FireFACE software V1.0, and the positive response index (PRI) was calculated by subtracting sad scores from happy scores. Regional environmental factors were collected to detect driving forces using regression analyses. Happy scores were higher in forests than in urban settings, while sad scores for toddlers were lower in forests than in promenades and squares. Females showed more positive emotional expressions than males. Increases in happy scores were driven by the increase of daily minimum temperature; while PRI declined with increases in latitude. Overall, an urban forest experience can evoke positive emotions, which is likely due to comfortable feelings in warm temperatures.
Highlights
Urbanicity is associated with mental stress that increases the risk of poor public health [1]
Place, gender, and age did not have any interactive effects on happy scores (Table 2)
Happy scores were higher in Hefei than most of other cities, but the difference between
Summary
Urbanicity is associated with mental stress that increases the risk of poor public health [1]. Urbanization is linked to several stressors, such as traffic, traffic-related air pollution and noise [2], the urban heat effect [3], and social-contact-based anxieties [4,5]. Exposure to urban built settings hampers recuperation from stressors [6]. Stress is the process by which an individual responds psychologically, physiologically, and often behaviorally, to a situation that challenges or threatens their well-being [7]. Poor mental health plays a central role in stress-caused decline of subjective well-being [8,9]. Improving mental health is a significant goal of urban planners establishing sustainable cities [10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
