Socio‐demographic correlates of nature connection: An Australia‐wide study

Nature deficit occurs when people, especially children, spend less time outdoors. Nature deficit often results in a wide range of behavioral issues, and people living in urban areas are more apt to have nature deficit. The literature suggests potential relationships of nature deficit to commitments toward sustainability. Expanding the awareness of the perceived connectivity of greenspaces, nature deficit, and attitudes about sustainability are important. Geospatial technologies, such as Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing, can accurately map green spaces in urban and suburban areas. This chapter describes some of the tools and techniques used to map these areas. Mapping green spaces in urban areas can be as simple as setting a threshold of vegetation index values to determine greenspace. In this chapter we use remote sensing data and techniques to map out vegetation and greenspaces throughout the Las Vegas metropolitan area in 1985 and 2014. Specifically, the percentage of greenspace in Las Vegas has decreased by about 2.5 % in 29 years. Studies like this can help planners, geographers, and others to understand the spatial dimensions of urban greenspace, and help them to promote vegetation throughout entire urban areas – especially those areas that are deemed to not have adequate greenspace. However, further research needs to be conducted on how residents in desert areas, like Las Vegas, perceive nature (it is green?), how the desert urban landscape influences people, the contributions of desert landscape exposure to perceptions of environmental sustainability, and potential outcomes from contact with nature different in desert environments.

The population of Balikpapan City has increased along with economic growth. The increasing population has resulted in the densification of the population and settlements which. That are fast and uncontrolled in parts of the city. The increasing demand for space, especially for settlements and built-up land, has an impact on the deterioration of the quality of the environment, especially the public green space. Balikpapan is one of the cities that despite extensive protected forests but still has problems providing public green open spaces. One of the impacts of the lack of green space in urban areas is that the community has a limited place to socialize with the surrounding environment. Furthermore the limited green open space in urban areas can cause pollution. This has resulted in decreasing public health. The analytical method used is path analysis technique. The type of data used in this path analysis is cross section data. The results show the contribution of green space distribution in disease is 2.9% with the highest proportion of being diarrhoea. In addition, the distribution of green space affects the number of infant mortality rate is 5.5% while the rest are contributions from other variables not included in the study.

The twin crises of mental and planetary health can benefit from understanding how visiting nature and nature connectedness are related to well‐being and environmentalism. These relationships are complicated by (1) the quality of neighbourhood nature, which can influence both nature visit behaviour and nature connectedness, as well as well‐being and environmentalism; (2) the interplay between visiting nature and nature connectedness in these relationships. Cross‐sectional data from the People and Nature Surveys in England was used to estimate associations between nature visit frequency and nature connectedness, and a range of well‐being and environmentalism outcomes (N range 4588–12,082), with relationships adjusted for perceived neighbourhood nature quality. Interaction between nature visit frequency and connectedness was accounted for in restricted cubic spline models. We estimated the effects of contrasts in nature visit frequency at different levels of connectedness, and the effects of increased nature connectedness at levels of visit frequency. Overall, both visiting nature and nature connectedness were positively related to both well‐being and environmentalism. Well‐being benefits associated with increased nature visit frequency were differentially greater at higher nature connectedness. Well‐being benefits associated with increased nature connectedness were differentially greater at low connectedness, especially in combination with low nature visit frequency. Environmentalism benefits associated with increased nature visit frequency were greater at lower than at mid‐range nature connectedness. Environmentalism benefits associated with increased nature connectedness at low visit frequency were greater at low connectedness, but at high visit frequency conservation behaviour benefits associated with increased nature connectedness were greater at high connectedness. Policy implications: The benefits of visiting nature and nature connectedness to well‐being and environmentalism highlight the need for policy to simultaneously promote both access and connectedness, and the complexity of relationships suggests how interventions can be targeted. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Urban trees and forests show a better ecosystem with many benefits, including pure air quality. The development of urban green infrastructure (UGI) creates a better management system that greatly impacts social values in an urban system. The UGI and construction activities are receiving much attention for their effectiveness in addressing various urban ecological, social and economic issues. Using green infrastructure in stormwater management can reduce the influence on urban sewerage systems and, eventually, on building water resources. The main goal of the research is to optimize the green infrastructure to provide a less-pollution, well-organized, and pleasurable environment for the inhabitants. Various models are used to study the present rainfall-runoff scenario, but the stormwater management model (SWMM) is the most preferable and suggested model. Once the parameters are accessed, optimizing the green infrastructure (GI) will be easy. A complete SWMM model is evaluated over the complete surface, and a hydrological measurement is presented. The evaluation study presents various component percentages: asphalt (37%), green (27%), ceiling (21%), grit (12%), and cemented area (2%), which provides rainproof coverage of approximately 60%. A design is developed about the diverse events of GI in urban exploiting the SWMM and demonstrates its stimulus on the rainfall-runoff behaviour. In recent years, very little attention has been given to green spaces in urban areas, which not only increases pollution but also decreases the urbanization. Therefore, urban green spaces are more important to improve air quality and resident living standards. Over the given scenario and the rainfall event, a decline of the quantitative discharge parameters is evident, such as discharge volume (i.e., from 3.6 to 61.8) and the peak discharge rate (i.e., from 5.4 to 62.7%). The simulation results show that green areas give high satisfaction with low construction costs, which shows the superlative performance ratio of the examined measures. From the investigation, it is also recommended to have green areas and public spaces in impervious urban areas, which greatly reduced the runoff in the project area.

Open greenways play significant roles for city residents, urban climate, and urban ecosystems. Open green spaces are a combination of systems providing ecological, aesthetic, economic, and recreational benefits. Due to new technologies, rapid increases of population, industrialization, and irregular urbanization, open and green spaces in urban areas are decreasing. Open green spaces in urban areas improve the quality of life of city residents and bring out social and cultural characteristics of a city. In this study, the city of Amasya, Turkey was selected as the study area largely due to its natural, historical, tourist, and traditional values. Amasya is located next to Yesilirmak River and Valley, and it is known for its historical–cultural texture. The purpose of the current study is to design a multifunctional greenway system that will protect the natural, historical, and cultural values of Amasya city, passing through important focal points for the city, and ensuring sustainability by support...

Green spaces are really needed in urban areas as society activities places. Green space is also one of key components in the construction of city infrastructure. The importance of green space in urban areas demanding the Government or private parties in order to fulfill the green space necessities. But often many obstacles that occur in the fulfillment of Green spaces in urban areas. The implementation of Local Regulation No.7 in 2010 about Structuring green space still experiencing barriers that arise from Government, private parties as well as societies. This research uses qualitative descriptive methods of gathering techniques data analysis through observation, interview and study documents.

Promoting positive mental health is of utmost importance, especially in today's urban context, as recognized by the World Health Organization. However, the scarcity of green spaces in urban areas presents challenges for fostering a connection with nature. To address this gap, this study investigates the distinctive contribution of urban home gardens to the mental well-being of women in the Greater Jakarta Area. Through an online survey, participant backgrounds and mental well-being were assessed using the WEMWBS scale. Validity and reliability were established using Pearson's product-moment correlation and Cronbach's alpha, respectively. The study unravels several influential factors, including garden interaction (visit frequency and duration) and size. Crucially, it advances the literature by shedding light on the original contribution of urban home gardens to mental well-being. Notably, women who visit their urban home garden more than seven times a week and spend over two hours per day in their garden report the highest levels of mental well-being. These findings highlight the unique role of urban home gardens in promoting mental well-being among urban women. Consequently, they hold implications for policymakers and practitioners aiming to enhance mental well-being and foster access to green spaces in urban areas.

BackgroundRecent studies revealed that green spaces in urban areas are critical for conservation of native biodiversity and that assessment of the present flora of green spaces in urban areas is critical for protection of the native biodiversity. The Komaba Campus of the University of Tokyo embraces a relevant green area, located in a highly urbanised area in Tokyo Metropolis (35.66 N 139.68 E, Japan). The total area of this Campus is 25.4 ha, from which, 4.5 ha are covered by vegetation. Although intense urbanisation can be observed around the Campus, new insect species had been reported for the Campus area, suggesting that the biodiversity on the Campus still demands some attention. Differently from fauna surveys, no flora survey has been done for more than 30 years on the Campus. In this study, we have extensively surveyed the plants diversity on the Komaba Campus of the University of Tokyo, aiming for an update of the plants list on this green urban area in Tokyo.New informationThe survey covered all herbaceous and arboreous plants growing wild on the Campus. Garden plants were excluded in this survey because these plants were supposed to be cultivated. The final dataset contained, in total, 324 taxa, from which 234 were herbaceous plants and 90 were arboreous plants. The top three taxa are as follows: Poaceae (38 taxa), Asteraceae (34 taxa) and Rosaceae (14 taxa), respectively. This is the first update to the Flora of the Komaba Campus of the University of Tokyo in 30 years and represent an important contribution to conservation of native species in the Tokyo metropolis.

Application of land suitability analysis and landscape ecology to urban greenspace planning in Hanoi, Vietnam

Despite growing concern about climate change, there remains a significant gap between individuals' environmental concern and their actual behaviour. Humans' personal relationship with nature is a key contributor to pro‐environmental behaviour (PEB), which may account for this gap. Those individuals with high levels of sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), approximately 25%–30% of the population, have a particularly strong connection with the natural world and have a ‘pause to check’ attitude that may make them more prone to consider future consequences of actions. We hypothesise that (1) a disposition to experience awe, characterizing high SPS, mediates the association between the trait and connectedness to nature (CN); (2) SPS is associated with PEB, and CN mediates the association; and (3) consideration for future consequences also mediates the association between high SPS and PEB. 807 participants completed an online survey including validated measures of SPS, CN, awe, PEB and consideration for future consequences. Correlational and mediational analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. The study showed that the relationship between SPS and CN was mediated by awe. The relationship between SPS and PEB was independently mediated by CN and consideration for future consequences. Policy implications. The UN Sustainable Development Goals were set to reduce inequalities (SDG 10) by considering individual differences, as well as improving climate action (SDG 13). This study shows that psychological dimensions such as sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) are linked to pro‐environmental behaviour (PEB) through future‐oriented thinking and feeling connected with nature. These results also suggest that cultivating connectedness to nature and training those with lower SPS to consider future consequences of actions may be a potential avenue to improve PEB. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Nature connectedness can promote pro‐environmental behaviour and psychological well‐being, but little is known about how nature connectedness can be strengthened. Interventions that seek to enhance nature connectedness by promoting direct nature contact may be impractical because urban areas often lack opportunities for interactions with nature in the daily lives of people. This study examines the effects of a gratitude journal exercise on nature connectedness, psychological well‐being, and engagement in wildlife gardening. Participants (N = 114) were either asked to write down daily three things relating to nature that they were grateful for over a 14‐day period or they were assigned to one of two control groups (a traditional gratitude condition and an activity list condition). Compared to the two control groups, there were no significant differences in any of the outcome variables during the 14‐day period and at 1‐week and 3‐month follow‐ups. However, significant increases in all those outcome variables emerged independent of the group. Qualitative data analysis suggests that the journal exercise promoted increases in the outcome variables by generating self‐knowledge as well as positive emotions and attitudes. Moreover, participants noted that the journal activity made them think about nature in new ways, presumably through answering daily survey questions on nature connectedness. We suggest that the mere activity of regularly reflecting on one's relationship with nature may increase nature connectedness. Interventions that encourage people to contemplate the interconnectedness between themselves and nature could be a viable strategy to strengthen human–nature relationships, especially in urban areas that lack opportunities for interactions with nature. The findings of this study can inform future research concerned with the processes of strengthening nature connectedness and the design of interventions that employ nature‐based journal exercises. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Green space in urban areas, including city parks, is one of the essential components and inseparable elements of the urban structure. Not only have environmental benefits, but city parks are also beneficial for the community in social improvement, as they become places for human interaction and integration. Khon Kaen City, one of the city centers in Thailand, continues to grow from what was originally only a small rural area. Thus the existence of city parks is fundamental. Since sitting is an activity that can open opportunities for social interaction and create the vitality of urban space, the importance of creating seating that can maximize the social interaction (sociopetal) of the community in the city park is needed. However, the seating facilities in Khon Kaen city parks are dominated by linear seating characteristics that can minimize social interaction (sociofugal). This study aims to investigate the relationship between the sociopetality of seating facilities design and communities' social activity. Data on seating facilities design characteristics and communities' social activity collected through behavioral mapping in three city parks in Khon Kaen were analyzed using chi-square and odd ratio. The results showed a significant relationship between the sociopetality of seating facilities design and communities' social activity. Sociopetal seats tend to be used 2.4 times more often for social activity than individual activity. This finding can be a reference for architects, planners, and designers to increase social activity in city parks.

Strengthening positive human–nature relationships is seen as a way to more pro‐environmental behaviour and leads to a greater environmental sustainability. Therefore, understanding human–nature relationships has attracted increasing attention among researchers. Nature connectedness is a concept developed to measure such relationships. Since nature connectedness is complex and context dependent phenomenon, more research comparing sociocultural and environmental factors within societies in different countries is needed to understand its determinants. In this study, we explored how sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics and value orientation of respondents and environmental variables affected nature connectedness across different contexts in the European Union. We used 11 sociodemographic, socioeconomic and personal value factors from the computer‐assisted web interview (CAWI) and six environmental variables characterizing the local environments of 1054 respondents as independent variables to explain the nature connectedness of the respondents in Greece, Poland and Sweden. The individual level of nature connectedness (response variable) was expressed by an additive index (NC‐index) based on a 5‐item scale originating from CAWI. The general additive model was applied to link NC‐index to sociodemographic, value orientation and selected environmental variables. We found that the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents and their value orientation were substantially more important in explaining the individual level of nature connectedness than environmental variables. The NC‐index was positively correlated with the frequency of visits to the natural environment and biospheric values of the respondents, and was higher for women and the most prosperous respondents. Moreover, we observed several country‐wise differences in associations between explanatory variables and NC‐index. For example, altruistic orientation was positively related to the level of nature connectedness only in Greece, but not in two other countries, and residence during childhood was important to nature connectedness only in Sweden. Our findings that some sociodemographic, socioeconomic and value orientation variables affect the level of individual nature connectedness across studied countries are encouraging. They indicate that some universally applied educational actions may elevate the level of nature connectedness. We argue that exploration of nature connectedness from a cross‐country perspective may provide significant insights into the environmental debate in national and international contexts. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

By 2050, it is projected that 68 per cent of the world’s population will live in cities. At the same time, mankind is facing the tasks to tackle climate change and to produce enough food for a growing world population. Those trends claim to rethink how cities should be planned, and how agriculture can become resilient and deliver sufficient crop yield in a changing climate. This paper offers an insight into the idea of urban agriculture as a solution for those challenges in an urban context, considering the urbanization trend, the role of cities in climate change, and the issues of limited space in urban areas and agricultural habits. It argues for an implementation of agriculture into urban planning in relation to ecological agricultural practices. Pursuing ecological practices like Conservation Agriculture improves the health of soils which results in a higher crop yield. Therefore, ecological practices in cities are a key to produce vegetables and fruits for the urban demand and to reduce transport emissions. Furthermore, with an extension of green spaces in urban areas through ecological cultivated land, the urban heat island effect can be decreased, more carbon can be stored in healthy soils, and water run-off can be improved which reduces the likelihood of urban flood events.

The current biodiversity crisis, extinction of experience of nature and rising concern about people's well‐being and mental health require us to understand the benefits of activities supporting people's engagement with nature. We ran a 1‐week randomised controlled experiment to test the impact of nature‐focussed activities on people's connectedness to nature and well‐being. This project, called ‘Nature Up Close and Personal: A Wellbeing Experiment’ recruited 500 people who completed the pre‐ and post‐participation surveys which included seven psychometric outcome measures. People were randomly assigned to one of six groups. Those in non‐control groups were asked to take part in one 10‐min activity five times over 8 days; this could be done in any place with nature near to them. The activities were as follows: two different citizen science activities, a nature‐noticing activity (asking people to note three good things in nature: 3GTiN) or a combination of citizen science and 3GTiN. Citizen science, 3GTiN and the combination of the two had significant positive effects on nature connectedness, happiness, sense of worthwhile life and satisfaction with life. 3GTiN (alone and in combination with citizen science) had significant positive effects on pro‐nature conservation behaviours. All activities engaged the pathways to nature connectedness. Compared to 3GTiN, people doing citizen science scored lower at engaging with nature through their senses, and feeling calm or joyful, but higher for feeling that they made a difference. The combined activity engaged the pathways to nature connectedness at least as strongly as the highest scoring of citizen science or 3GTiN individually. This shows the potential to intentionally design citizen science to enhance the pathways to nature connectedness. Nature‐based citizen science is more than just a way to gather environmental data: it benefits well‐being and nature connectedness of participants, and (when in combination with noticing nature activities) pro‐nature conservation behaviours. It adds to the range of activities already proven to enhanced human–nature interactions and nature connectedness. Public policy needs to develop a ‘one health’ approach to people's engagement with nature, supporting communities to both notice and monitor everyday biodiversity, recognising that human and nature's well‐being is interdependent. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.