Using social media data to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on urban green space use.

Having access to and visiting urban green space (UGS) improves liveability and provides considerable benefits to residents. However, traditional methods of investigating UGS visitation, such as questionnaires and social surveys, are usually time- and resource-intensive, and frequently provide less transferable, site-specific outcomes. This study uses social media data (Twitter) to examine spatio-temporal changes in UGS use in London associated with COVID-19 related lockdowns. It compares georeferenced Tweets posted in a 3 month period from 23 March to 23 June for 3 years covering the first lockdown in the UK in 2020, with Tweets for the same period in 2019 and 2021. The results show that (1) the land-use type of Public Park and Garden was the most frequently visited type of UGS, which may be correlated with these UGS areas remaining opening during the lockdown period; (2) the usage of UGS decreased in central London and increased in other areas during lockdown, which may correlated with working from home restrictions; (3) activities were positively associated with Physical activities maybe as a result of allowing people to take a single daily exercise, and (4) people spent more time in UGS areas on weekdays than weekends compared to pre-lockdown. This is the first study to examine social media data over consistent time period before, during and after the lockdown in relation to UGS. The results show that the findings and method can inform policy makers in their management and planning of UGS, especially in a period of social crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.

A cross-sectional analysis of green space prevalence and mental wellbeing in England.

BACKGROUND: With urbanisation increasing, it is important to understand how to design changing environments to promote mental wellbeing. Evidence suggests that local-area proportions of green space may be associated with happiness and life satisfaction; however, the available evidence on such associations with more broadly defined mental wellbeing in still very scarce. This study aimed to establish whether the amount of neighbourhood green space was associated with mental wellbeing. METHODS: Data were drawn from Understanding Society, a national survey of 30,900 individuals across 11,096 Census Lower-Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in England, over the period 2009-2010. Measures included the multi-dimensional Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS) and LSOA proportion of green space, which was derived from the General Land Use Database (GLUD), and were analysed using linear regression, while controlling for individual, household and area-level factors. RESULTS: Those living in areas with greater proportions of green space had significantly higher mental wellbeing scores in unadjusted analyses (an expected increase of 0.17 points (95% CI 0.11, 0.23) in the SWEMWBS score for a standard deviation increase of green space). However, after adjustment for confounding by respondent sociodemographic characteristics and urban/rural location, the association was attenuated to the null (regression coefficient B = - 0.01, 95% CI -0.08, 0.05, p = 0.712). CONCLUSIONS: While the green space in an individual's local area has been shown through other research to be related to aspects of mental health such as happiness and life satisfaction, the association with multidimensional mental wellbeing is much less clear from our results. While we did not find a statistically significant association between the amount of green space in residents' local areas and mental wellbeing, further research is needed to understand whether other features of green space, such as accessibility, aesthetics or use, are important for mental wellbeing.

The longitudinal associations between proximity to local grocery shops and functional ability in the very old living with and without multimorbidity: Results from the Newcastle 85+ study.

BACKGROUNDS: The very old, people aged ≥85, is a fast-growing age group with high risk of disability and dependence. To identify environmental factors that support maintenance of functional ability, the aim of this study is to investigate the longitudinal associations between proximity to local grocery shops and the ability to shop for groceries in the very old and to examine the potential variation between those living with and without multimorbidity. METHODS: This study was based on the Newcastle 85+ study, a population-based cohort of people aged 85 in North-East England. The numbers of grocery shops were identified within a 500 m road distance to participants' residence. Multilevel Poisson regression modelling was used to investigate whether proximity to local grocery shops was associated with the ability to do grocery shopping over five years in those with and without multimorbidity adjusting for sociodemographic factors and area deprivation. RESULTS: The very old who lived in more deprived areas were more likely to have a grocery shop within 500 m than those in less deprived areas. Proximity to local grocery shops was not associated with the ability to do grocery shopping in the participants who had none or one chronic condition (IRR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.89, 1.12) but moderated loss of the ability in those living with multimorbidity (IRR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.70, 0.96). CONCLUSIONS: For the very old living with multimorbidity, proximity to local grocery shops may support their functional ability. Future research should investigate how to support older people with poor health to access local grocery shops.

The relationship between greenspace and the mental wellbeing of adults: A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: The view that interacting with nature enhances mental wellbeing is commonplace, despite a dearth of evidence or even agreed definitions of 'nature'. The aim of this review was to systematically appraise the evidence for associations between greenspace and mental wellbeing, stratified by the different ways in which greenspace has been conceptualised in quantitative research. METHODS: We undertook a comprehensive database search and thorough screening of articles which included a measure of greenspace and validated mental wellbeing tool, to capture aspects of hedonic and/or eudaimonic wellbeing. Quality and risk of bias in research were assessed to create grades of evidence. We undertook detailed narrative synthesis of the 50 studies which met the review inclusion criteria, as methodological heterogeneity precluded meta-analysis. RESULTS: Results of a quality assessment and narrative synthesis suggest associations between different greenspace characteristics and mental wellbeing. We identified six ways in which greenspace was conceptualised and measured: (i) amount of local-area greenspace; (ii) greenspace type; (iii) visits to greenspace; (iv) views of greenspace; (v) greenspace accessibility; and (vi) self-reported connection to nature. There was adequate evidence for associations between the amount of local-area greenspace and life satisfaction (hedonic wellbeing), but not personal flourishing (eudaimonic wellbeing). Evidence for associations between mental wellbeing and visits to greenspace, accessibility, and types of greenspace was limited. There was inadequate evidence for associations with views of greenspace and connectedness to nature. Several studies reported variation in associations between greenspace and wellbeing by life course stage, gender, levels of physically activity or attitudes to nature. CONCLUSIONS: Greenspace has positive associations with mental wellbeing (particularly hedonic wellbeing), but the evidence is not currently sufficient or specific enough to guide planning decisions. Further studies are needed, based on dynamic measures of greenspace, reflecting access and uses of greenspace, and measures of both eudaimonic and hedonic mental wellbeing.