The Potential of Green Areas Exposure on Increasing People’s Physical Activity

Abstract

Past research has described positive correlations between exposure to green urban areas and people’s physical activity. However, this connection is not always true because green space characteristics have a variety of effects on physical activity. This study aims to assess the influence of green urban areas and main characteristics such as size, tree cover, and the quantity and quality of vegetation development on people’s physical activity. The study combines a survey of 2,067 respondents across Spain and data related to vegetation indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), tree cover density, or leaf area index from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite. The study also evaluates the main drivers of physical activity that influence the association between exposure to green urban areas and physical activity. A Poisson regression model was used across zip code areas in Spain in order to evaluate the association between exposure to green urban areas and physical activity as well as the effect of main socioeconomic determinants. Apart from exposure to green urban areas, physical activity was primarily driven by household income, environmental concern, energy conservation attitudes, lifestyles, having children and living in cities and rural areas. The results also show that exposure to green spaces in rural areas had a considerably weaker effect than in urban areas. The results suggest that interventions could aim to foster physical activity by increasing accessible green spaces in densely populated areas.