Abstract
The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it significant changes to human mobility patterns and working environments. We aimed to explore how social distancing measures affected recreational use of urban green space during the partial lockdown in Oslo, Norway. Mobile tracking data from thousands of recreationists were used to analyze high resolution spatio-temporal changes in activity. We estimated that outdoor recreational activity increased by 291% during lockdown relative to a 3 yr average for the same days. This increase was significantly greater than expected after adjusting for the prevailing weather and time of year and equates to approx. 86 000 extra activities per day over the municipality (population of 690 000). Both pedestrians (walking, running, hiking) and cyclists appeared to intensify activity on trails with higher greenviews and tree canopy cover, but with differences in response modulated by trail accessibility and social distancing preferences. The magnitude of increase was positively associated with trail remoteness, suggesting that green spaces facilitated social distancing and indirectly mitigated the spread of COVID-19. Finally, pedestrian activity increased in city parks, peri-urban forest, as well as protected areas, highlighting the importance of access to green open spaces that are interwoven within the built-up matrix. These findings shed new light on the value of urban nature as resilience infrastructure during a time of crisis. The current pandemic also reveals some important dilemmas we might face regarding green justice on the path towards urban planning for future sustainable cities.
Highlights
The 2020 novel coronavirus pandemic has caused unprecedented changes to mobility, economic activity and the associated environmental footprint (Muhammad et al 2020, Venter et al Venter, et al, 2020aa)
Recreational activity increase Outdoor recreational activity over Oslo municipality increased by 291% during 2020 lockdown dates (13 March onward) relative to the 3-yr baseline average
We find evidence to support the hypothesis that recreational activity significantly increased during the COVID-19 lockdown in Oslo and that increases were greatest over trails within greener and more remote areas
Summary
The 2020 novel coronavirus pandemic has caused unprecedented changes to mobility, economic activity and the associated environmental footprint (Muhammad et al 2020, Venter et al Venter, et al, 2020aa) This is because, during lockdowns, governments have enacted key policy measures to reduce the transmission of SAR-CoV-2 and protect public health. In a few countries, including Norway, lockdowns have been less severe and citizens have been allowed to spend time outdoors while adhering to social distancing advisories This unique aspect of the Norwegian lockdowns raises the question of whether urban green space, including publicly accessible street trees, parks, natural vegetation and peri-urban forests, played a significant role in the way citizens adapted to the pandemic containment measures, perhaps spending more time recreating in green spaces. There is little empirical evidence of the concepts of insurance value or resilience capacity, and in the case of this paper, the conditions for absorbing large and abrupt changes in demand for recreational activity within green versus grey urban space, and the implications for public mental and physical health
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