The role of perceived public and private green space in subjective health and wellbeing during and after the first peak of the COVID-19 outbreak

Wouter Poortinga,Natasha Bird,Britt Hallingberg,Rhiannon Phillips,Denitza Williams

doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104092

Wouter Poortinga, Natasha Bird + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104092

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Abstract

Research has consistently shown that access to parks and gardens is beneficial to people’s health and wellbeing. In this paper, we explore the role of both public and private green space in subjective health and wellbeing during and after the first peak of the COVID-19 outbreak that took place in the UK in the first half of 2020. It makes use of the longitudinal COVID-19 Public Experiences (COPE) study, with baseline data collected in March/April 2020 (during the first peak) and follow-up data collected in June/July 2020 (after the first peak) which included an optional module that asked respondents about their home and neighbourhood (n = 5,566). Regression analyses revealed that both perceived access to public green space (e.g. a park or woodland) and reported access to a private green space (a private garden) were associated with better subjective wellbeing and self-rated health. In line with the health compensation hypothesis for green space, private gardens had a greater protective effect where the nearest green space was perceived to be more than a 10-minute walk away. This interaction was however only present during the first COVID-19 peak when severe lockdown restrictions came into place, but not in the post-peak period when restrictions were being eased. The study found few differences across demographic groups. A private garden was relatively more beneficial for men than for women during but not after the first peak. The results suggest that both public and private green space are an important resource for health and wellbeing in times of crisis.

Highlights

The initial model (Model 1) shows that both perceived access to public green space and reported access to a private garden were significantly associated with subjective wellbeing during the peak and post-peak waves
This study investigated whether perceived access to public or private green space was associated with better subjective health and wellbeing, both during and after the first COVID-19 peak that took place in the UK in the first half of 2020
The study shows that both perceived ac cess to public green space and reported access to a private garden pro vide benefits in terms of subjective wellbeing and self-rated health

Summary

Introduction

Within two weeks of the World Health Organisation declaring a pandemic (Cucinotta & Vanelli, 2020), the UK government imposed a strict nationwide lockdown on the 23rd of March 2020. The lockdowns at start of the pandemic are thought to have saved millions of lives (Flaxman et al, 2020) due to reduced mobility (Badr et al, 2020; Paez, 2020) and transmission of the disease (Courtemanche et al, 2020; Paez et al, 2021), but raised concerns about their impact on people’s mental health as a result of stress, substance abuse, anxiety, and loneliness (Galea et al, 2020; World Health Organization, 2020). Early evidence has shown increased prevalence of poor mental health and wellbeing during the early stages of the pandemic (e.g. Holttum, 2020; Karatzias et al, 2020; Li & Wang, 2020; Pappa et al, 2020)

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