Factors influencing urban greenspace use among a multi-ethnic community in the UK: The Chalkscapes Study

Abstract

In the UK, there are disparities in the use of urban greenspaces, particularly among low-income, ethnically diverse communities. Determining how populations interact with greenspaces and the barriers and facilitators that influence use remains pertinent to improve access. This study aimed to examine how people who reside in an ethnically diverse community use and engage with urban greenspaces and, drawing on the COM-B model (capability, opportunity, motivation, and behaviour), aimed to assess the potential barriers and facilitators that influence use. A cross-sectional survey, conducted across two ethnically diverse towns in southeast England investigated greenspace usage, including activities and reasons for using greenspaces and included the Brief Measure of Behavior Change (COM-B). The survey was shared online via Qualtrics and widely disseminated in the local community via bilingual fieldworkers and community networks. The sample comprised 906 participants (60.7 % female; mean age 38 ± 16.37 years). The findings revealed that the use of greenspaces was low with around 33 % visiting greenspaces frequently (at least once a week). Older people, those with higher levels of deprivation and/or those from a minority ethnic background were all shown to be the lowest users of greenspaces. The findings also confirmed that the types of activities and reasons for visiting greenspaces were shown to vary by a range of socio-demographic characteristics. The COM-B model was shown to be a useful explanatory framework with physical capability and motivation identified as significant predictors of frequency of greenspace use. We now encourage future research to consider what factors underpin motivation and the opportunities to use greenspaces, and how these vary across the wider population.