How the COVID-19 pandemic changed patterns of green infrastructure use: A scoping review.

The use of green infrastructure (GI) has been established as a way to alleviate stress and the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a new emphasis on the importance of GI as both a coping mechanism and a source of recreation. This scoping review seeks to address whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected the use of GI, specifically the ways in which the pandemic altered visitation patterns and the frequency of the use of GI. This review identifies studies that explore the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and GI use and assesses whether the pandemic has altered the use of GI, including whether GI use increased, decreased, or remained the same and examines potential changes in visitation structure as well as other effects studied. This review also discusses how future planning for GI can consider the lessons learned from the pandemic. Key findings suggest that GI use increased, as did visitors' appreciation for GI and its benefits. The use of local GI to one's home also increased in importance. Decreases in visitation were typically a result of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and fear of viral transmission within GI.

Resident Knowledge of and Engagement with Green Infrastructure in Toronto and Philadelphia.

Green infrastructure (GI) initiatives, including programs to plant trees and install bioswales, have been adopted by a growing number of local government and non-governmental organizations. While the details of these programs vary, a common characteristic of most Canadian and US GI initiatives is a distributed approach that includes both public and private land. To date, little research has explored residents' knowledge of GI or their engagement with related initiatives even though residents' installation of GI is often key to creating distributed GI networks. In this study, we (1) assess residents' knowledge of the term GI, (2) identify residents' level of engagement with GI initiatives, and (3) examine whether factors like level of concern about local environmental issues can predict GI knowledge or level of engagement with GI initiatives. We explored these objectives through a survey of residents in Toronto (Ontario, Canada) and Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, US). We found that about a quarter of survey respondents in both cities had previously heard the term "green infrastructure". Neither knowledge of GI nor level of engagement with GI initiatives could be predicted by the level of concern about local environmental issues, but residents' interest in using their outdoor space for nature activities (e.g., gardening) predicted GI knowledge in both cities and level of initiative engagement in Philadelphia. Our results suggest the need for widespread education campaigns that clearly define GI so that residents can be participants in policy discussions, link it with their needs, and identify ways to manage GI to create desired benefits.

"Green Enough Ain't Good Enough:" Public Perceptions and Emotions Related to Green Infrastructure in Environmental Justice Communities.

The concept of biophilic urban planning has inspired neighborhood greening projects in many older urban communities in the USA and beyond. The strengths (e.g., environmental management, biodiversity, heat island mitigation) and challenges (e.g., greenwashing, green gentrification) of such projects are well-documented. Additional research on the relationship between these projects and various social factors (e.g., public perceptions, feelings, and mental health and well-being) is necessary to better understand how people adapt to said projects while struggling to navigate other more pressing socioeconomic issues, especially in communities facing environmental injustice and health inequity. In this article, we focus on one aspect of biophilic urban planning-green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) (e.g., rain gardens, bio-swales, pervious pavements, and wildflower meadows)-in Waterfront South, a post-industrial neighborhood in Camden, NJ, USA, where residents have faced environmental injustices for decades. Our qualitative analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews of sixteen residents offered a thorough insight into their perceptions and emotions regarding different types of urban GSI projects. Residents acknowledge the many benefits that GSI offers to combat the neighborhood's social and environmental injustices, but they are cautious about the possibility of some projects prompting new issues and concerns within the community. Our findings reveal potential implications in GSI planning, research, and practice in this neighborhood and similar urban places elsewhere that have yet to undergo gentrification.

Parks and the Pandemic: A Scoping Review of Research on Green Infrastructure Use and Health Outcomes during COVID-19.

Green infrastructure (GI) has long been known to impact human health, and many academics have used past research to argue for the potential importance of GI as a mechanism for maintaining or improving health within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This scoping review addresses the question: What evidence, if any, have researchers found of a relationship between green infrastructure use and health during the COVID-19 pandemic? Specifically, evaluating the (a) association of GI use with COVID-19 disease outcomes and (b) association of GI use with other health outcomes as impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-two studies were identified that measured GI use and studied it in relation to health outcomes during the pandemic. The studies were reviewed for the specific measures and types of GI use, level of analysis, specific types of health outcomes, and the conclusions reached with regard to GI use and health. Studies exploring COVID-19-specific health outcomes showed mixed results, while non-COVID health outcomes were more consistently improved through GI use, particularly with regard to improved mental health. While the evidence strongly suggests that GI use has played a protective role in non-COVID-19 physical and mental health during the pandemic, questions remain with regard to possible impacts on COVID transmission and mortality.