The Spatiotemporal Trend of City Parks in Mainland China between 1981 and 2014: Implications for the Promotion of Leisure Time Physical Activity and Planning

Current methods for evaluating people's exposure to green space: A scoping review

People's exposure to green space is a critical link between urban green space and urban residents' health. Since green space may affect human health through multiple pathways regarding diverse human health outcomes, the measurement of people's exposure to green space must be tailored to concrete study contexts and research questions. In this scoping review, we systematically categorized the available green space representations and metrics in the last two decades that can be used to derive people's exposure to green space regarding different research topics. A three-phase systematic review was conducted after a generalized search of relevant research articles from the three most-used publication databases, namely Scopus, the Web of Science, and PubMed. We identified 260 research articles that particularly discuss green space representations and metrics. We further developed a multi-pathway framework to articulate the complicated context issues in green space studies. We categorized the most relevant green space representations and metrics into five groups, including green space indices, the delineation, inventory, and usage of green space, the spatiotemporal evolution of green space, the attributes and components of green space, and the green space landscape and fragmentation. Finally, we discussed the inter-conversion between different green space representations and metrics, the "mobility-turn" in green space studies and how it may affect the derivation of people's exposure to green space, and other potential methodological issues in measuring people's exposure to green space. Our scoping review provides the most comprehensive framework and categories for deriving people's exposure to green space to date, which may strongly support a broad range of studies that concern green space's health effects.

Investigation on urban greenspace in relation to sociodemographic factors and health inequity based on different greenspace metrics in 3 US urban communities

BACKGROUND

Study results are inconclusive regarding how access to greenspace differs by sociodemographic status potentially due to lack of consideration of varying dimensions of greenspace.

OBJECTIVE

We investigated how provision of greenspace by sociodemographic status varies by greenspace metrics reflecting coverage and accessibility of greenspace.

METHODS

We used vegetation levels measured by Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), percent of greenspace, percent tree cover, percent tree cover along walkable roads, and percent of people living ≤500 m of a park entrance (park accessibility). We considered data for 2008-2013 in Census block groups in 3 US regions: New Haven, Connecticut; Baltimore, Maryland; and Durham, North Carolina. We examined geographical distribution of greenspace metrics and their associations with indicators of income, education, linguistic isolation, race/ethnicity, and age. We used logistic regression to examine associations between these greenspace metrics and age-standardized mortality controlling for sociodemographic indicators.

RESULTS

Which region had the highest greenspace depended on the greenspace metric used. An interquartile range (33.6%) increase in low-income persons was associated with a 6.2% (95% CI: 3.1, 9.3) increase in park accessibility, whereas it was associated with 0.03 (95% CI: -0.035, -0.025) to 7.3% (95% CI: -8.7, -5.9) decreases in other greenspace metrics. A 15.5% increase in the lower-education population was associated with a 2.1% increase (95% CI: -0.3%, 4.6%) in park accessibility but decreases with other greenspace metrics (0.02 to 5.0%). These results were consistent across the 3 study areas. The odds of mortality rate more than the 75th percentile rate were inversely associated with all greenspace metrics except for annual average EVI (OR 1.27, 95% CI: 0.43, 3.79) and park accessibility (OR 1.40, 95% CI: 0.52, 3.75).

SIGNIFICANCE

Environmental justice concerns regarding greenspace differ by the form of natural resources, and pathways of health benefits can differ by form of greenspace and socioeconomic status within communities.

IMPACT STATEMENT

Comparisons of exposure to greenspace between different greenspace metrics should be incorporated in decision-making within local contexts.

Urban Greening Effect on Land Surface Temperature

Urbanization has accelerated the conversion of vegetated land to built-up regions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of urban park configuration on the Land Surface Temperature of the park and adjacent areas. In urban parks, the study analyzed the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), and the Land Surface Temperature (LST). The NDVI categorization process resulted in the development of a vegetation density distribution. The majority of Medan’s urban areas were categorized as low density, as seen by their low NDVI values. The NDBI values were significantly higher in the majority of the area. This shows that the majority of places are experiencing a decline in vegetation cover. The density of vegetation varies according to the placement of park components such as trees, mixed plants, recreation, and sports areas. According to LST data, the temperature in the urban park was cooler than in the surrounding areas. Although the surrounding areas are densely populated, urban parks are dominated by trees. Additionally, there is a green space adjacent to the park, which is a green lane that runs alongside the main roadways.

Accessibility of Park Green Space in Wuhan, China: Implications for Spatial Equity in the Post-COVID-19 Era

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people have seen the precious value of park green space for health. In the post-COVID-19 Era, it is essential to understand the different needs and expectations of different communities for the use of park green space. A myriad of previous studies focused on the whole city’s demand for park green space, while few studies examined spatial equity from a supply-demand perspective. This paper aims to investigate the differences in park green space accessibility among people of different ages at a community scale. Specifically, to better evaluate the accessibility of park green space and account for the travel choice, we compared the effects of the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method containing different distance decay functions (i.e., the improved 2SFCA methods) by considering the traffic network and the scale of park green space. In addition, we compared the improved 2SFCA methods with the traditional 2SFCA. This study investigated the spatial equity of park green space accessibility in 1184 communities with a total population of 6,468,612 in the central urban districts of Wuhan. The results showed that the high accessible communities were concentrated in the urban center along the Yangtze River. The improved 2SFCA methods outperformed the traditional 2SFCA, and presented smoother gradient information. It was revealed that over half of communities’ park green space accessibility levels did not match their population density. Inequality of accessibility to park green space was found in people of different ages, especially for the youth (Gini coefficient was as high as 0.83). The difference in the accessibility of urban park green space among different age structures implies the need to integrate community green space planning into urban planning in the post-COVID-19 Era.

Successful Implementation and Development of a Phase II Cardiac Rehabilitation Program: A China-Wide Cross-Sectional Study Tracking In-service Training Clinical Staff

Background: Despite the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation (CR), phase II CR remains highly unavailable; the factors influential to the successful implementation and development of phase II CR programs have not been fully explored.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was completed by 168 nationwide clinical staff. Parameters associated with the successful implementation and development of phase II CR and the factors associated with the quality of CR were explored by multivariable logistic regression.

Results: One hundred and eighteen of 168 respondents' institutions had successfully developed phase II CR programs, 41 of which delivered high-quality CR. Independent factors associated with successful implementation and development of CR were leadership support from hospital administrators, support from resident physicians, staff perception in CR increasing medical risk, and department type (cardiology vs. rehabilitation department). Independent factors associated with CR quality were the availability of “professional CR providers” and staff perceptions of CR improving physician–patient relationships. The medical system factors did not affect the development and quality of CR, including hospital level, funding type, academic type, general/specialized hospital, located city, medical insurance, the existence of a CR outpatient clinic and independent space, the availability of professional CR providers, staff structure, and the availability of regular training and standard procedure.

Conclusions: The development and quality of a phase II CR program may benefit from factors including support from administrators and resident physicians, adequately training more CR providers, without viewing medical system factors as a major issue.

Virtual Reality Representations of Nature to Improve Well-Being amongst Older Adults: a Rapid Review

Poor well-being amongst older adults poses a serious health concern. Simultaneously, research shows that contact with nature can improve various facets of well-being, including physical, social, and mental well-being. However, nature is not always accessible for older adults due to mobility restrictions and related care needs that come with age. A promising strategy aims at bringing nature inside through pervasive technologies. However, so far, there is little academic understanding of essential nature characteristics, psychological processes involved, and means for implementation in practice. The current study used a three-folded rapid review to assess current understanding and strategies used for improving well-being for older adults through virtual reality representations of nature. Searches were performed across three databases, followed-up by content-based evaluation of abstracts. In total, a set of 25 relevant articles was identified. Only three studies specifically focus on digital nature as an intervention strategy for improving well-being amongst older adults. Although these studies provide useful starting points for the design and (technological) development of such environments, they do not generate understanding of how specific characteristics of virtual nature representations impact social well-being measures in particular, and of the underlying psychological processes involved. We conclude that follow-up research is warranted to close the gap between insights and findings from nature research, gerontology, health research, and human-technology interaction.

How Are Green Spaces Distributed among Different Social Groups in Urban China? A National Level Study

The study analyzes the distributional equity of urban green space (UGS) among different social groups across all urban areas in China. Urban green space is measured in two ways: Park area per capita and vegetation coverage ratio within 1.6 km and 3.2 km featuring different ecosystem services they provide. Multiple regression analyses are conducted to assess relationships between different groups (children, the elderly, and migrant populations) and distributed UGS. Largely consistent to other national level studies, the nationwide analytical results indicate emerging social inequality of UGS during the urbanization of China, with a few nuances. A bi-fold pattern is observed in our case: Whilst areas with higher portions of children and senior people have less parks and high vegetation coverage, a marginalized group—internal migrant people, have more parks and low vegetation coverage in their vicinities. The results of regression analyses in different regions further shed light on revealing disparities of UGS in areas with varying socioeconomic development levels, geographical features, and urbanization paces. The implication of the study informs the decision makers to incorporate spatial patterns of social groups into green space guidance and evaluation for the purpose of promoting more equal development of UGS.

Providing Sports Venues on Mainland China: Implications for Promoting Leisure-Time Physical Activity and National Fitness Policies

Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) has been well documented as having substantial health benefits. The 2014 Chinese Fitness Survey Report stated that a lack of physical activity (PA) spaces is the most important non-human factor, leading to 10% of leisure-time physical inactivity in people aged 20 and above. We investigated the provision of sports venues in China and discussed the development of sports venues and national fitness policies in the context of promoting LTPA and public health. We analyzed information from China’s most recent sport venue census, the Sixth National Sports Venues Census, conducted in 2013. The number of sports venues increased between 2000 and 2013, with an inflection point around the year 2008. At the end of 2013, there were 12.45 venues for every 10,000 residents, and the per capita area was 1.46 m². However, numbers were still small compared with the United States and Japan. The percentages of full-time access, part-time access and membership venues were 51.5%, 14.3% and 34.2% respectively. Only half of sports venues were fully open to the public, meaning that the realized number and area per capita could be even lower. A lack of sports venues forces people who want to engage in PA to occupy other urban spaces that are not planned and designed for PA. Urban parks had 119,750 fitness station facilities (3.32% of the total), and 2366 urban fitness trails (19.24%), with a combined length of 6450 km (32.91%). On average, urban and rural areas had 13.17 and 10.80 venues per 10,000 persons, and 1.83 m² and 0.97 m² per capita. The urban-rural gap in sports venues exactly embodies some aspects of the “urban-rural dual structure” in China’s society. Measures to promote PA should focus on new and existing sports venues. In the policy making process, Chinese governments need to pay attention to the potential impact of related, external factors such as the gap between the urban and the rural and the potential advantage of indoor venues against summer heat and air pollution.

Combining industrial and urban water-reuse concepts for increasing the water resources in water-scarce regions

Water scarcity is a huge challenge for industrial and urban developments. As such developments are based on a secure water supply, strategies to ensure the required water quantities must be put into effect. In this context, sustainability is becoming an increasingly important factor due to the worsening of pollution and climate change. The integrated industrial-urban water-reuse concept (IU-WA-RE) links gray and green infrastructures by providing reuse water for different infrastructural purposes. Municipal and industrial wastewater is treated separately in different water resource recovery facilities. As a baseline the SEMIZENTRAL approach with the Resource and Recovery Center (RRC) and the Industrial Wastewater Management Concept with a focus on Reuse (IW² MC→R) for the industrial wastewater treatment are taken into account. These approaches are new concepts for wastewater treatment "fit for purpose." IU-WA-RE combines the water-reuse concepts by linking reuse water flows between the urban area and the adjacent industrial park, but focuses not on a production internal water reuse. The concept is designed to offer a holistic strategy to increase the water-reuse potential and thus the water resources. It offers a solution to cover the lack of water requirements in urban areas. It is therefore possible to drive sustainable urban developments. PRACTITIONER POINTS: The water-reuse potential increases enormously by combining industrial and municipal wastewater flows. Industrial wastewater should be treated "fit for purpose" and applied in the urban area since the municipal wastewater is not sufficient to cover its own water requirements for infrastructural purposes. Water-reuse for infrastructural purposes increases water resources. The application of reuse water drives sustainable urban developments.