Urban Green Space: Creating a Triple Win for Environmental Sustainability, Health, and Health Equity through Behavior Change.

Hanneke Kruize,Fotis Tsichlas,Pania Karnaki,Matluba Khan,Sonia Quiroga,Monica Aberg Yngwe,Gabriel Muiños,Sahran Higgins,Ruth Bell,Brigit Staatsen,Ingrid Stegeman,Maria Luísa Lima,George Morris,Pablo Martinez-Juarez,Nina Van Der Vliet,Silvestre García De Jalón,Aline Chiabai

doi:10.3390/ijerph16224403

Abstract

Urbanization, costs of green space maintenance, and diminishing connection between people and nature all exert pressures on urban green space. This is regrettable as green space has the potential to create wins for environmental sustainability, health, and health equity. This paper explores this potential triple win and investigates how to increase the use of urban green space through behavior change. A narrative literature review was conducted and was supplemented with literature suggested by experts. Results show that creating well-designed green spaces and stimulating people to use them can indeed deliver this triple win. Providing accessible, attractive, well-maintained green space with room for socialization, and where people feel safe, may increase the opportunity and motivation of people to use it more often. Informing and educating people and organizing activities may increase capability (and motivation) to use green space. Since the use of green space depends on life stage, lifestyle factors and individual values, it is important to involve potential users in its design. We recommend a specific focus on those groups who may benefit most from the use of green space. More evaluation is needed to inform effective green space interventions and to assess related economic, social, and environmental benefits.

Highlights

Patterns of urbanization in many European cities put pressure on available urban green space, such as public parks, urban gardens, woodlands, children’s play areas, roadside verges, riverside footpaths, and beaches [1]
This paper aims to address this gap by exploring the role of individual behavior in stimulating the use of urban green space in order to create a triple win for environmental sustainability, health, and health equity
The INHERIT model is formed by integrating the eDPSEEA model—an established conceptual model in the field of environmental and health [13]—with the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW), a model from the field of behavioral science [17]

Summary

Introduction

Patterns of urbanization in many European cities put pressure on available urban green space, such as public parks, urban gardens, woodlands, children’s play areas, roadside verges, riverside footpaths, and beaches [1]. Has the quantity of urban green space declined, and the quality [2]. We assume that the first will provide higher market benefits, compared to green spaces, there are environmental disbenefits and damages. Green spaces will have lower market benefits, but will provide in turn aesthetic, environmental, leisure, social, and health benefits, for which people may be willing to pay [3,4,5,6]. The maintenance of urban green space costs money and available maintenance funds can be limited in times of economic crisis [7]. Humans are generally less connected with nature than in the past, which may result in a lower perceived value of green space

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion