Determining Landscape Preferences
Multisensory experiences evaluated
Multisensory experiences evaluated
More nature, less psychosis
Wu and colleagues investigated links between being continuously exposed to residential bright artificial outdoor light at night (LAN) and air pollution (PM2.5; PM10 , nitrogen oxide) and the risk of cerebrovascular disease (CeVD). They found that “Levels of exposure to outdoor LAN and air pollution were positively associated with the risk of CeVD.
Towe-Goodman and many colleagues investigated links between living near green spaces (for instance, forests, parks, residential yards) and mental health. They learned via studying over 2000 children living in 41 US states that “greater residential green space exposure [from birth and within an area up to ¾ of a mile from home] was associated with fewer internalizing symptoms [for example, anxiety and depression] in early childhood but not in middle childhood. . . .
Collins and colleagues studied urban areas where adolescents and young adults (under the age of 25) feel comfortable. They report that they “invited a multidisciplinary, global group of researchers, practitioners, advocates and young people to complete sequential surveys to identify and prioritize the characteristics of a mental health-friendly city for young people. Here we show a set of ranked characteristic statements, grouped by personal, interpersonal, community, organizational, policy and environmental domains of intervention.
Borges, Rohrer, and Nilsson have edited an important new resource, published by Nordregio, Green and Healthy Nordic Cities: How to Plan, Design, and Manage Health-Promoting Urban Space (available here: https://norden.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1824218/FULLTEXT01.pdf). Green and Healthy Nordic Cities is “The culmination of the NORDGREEN project, which develops and implements smart planning and management solutions for well-designed, high-quality green spaces that promote heal
Makram and colleagues link access to nature and use of mental health services in urban neighborhoods. They “found that neighborhoods with a NatureScore of 60+ [0–100; low to high nature levels] had lower overall mental health utilization than those below 40. . . . This relationship persisted for depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety/stress and in neighborhoods with a NatureScore above 80. . . . Compared to neighborhoods with a NatureScore below 40, those above 80 had significantly lower depression . . . and bipolar . . .
Determining daylighting across the street
Mygind and colleagues found that neighborhood form and some parenting practices are related. They state that “There were no observable associations between residential greenness [i.e., Normalized Difference in Vegetation Index] within a 1,600 m network radius and parenting practices, mother-infant bonding, or infant socioemotional function. The findings were largely corroborated by sensitivity analyses (i.e., NDVI within 100, 250, 500, and 1,000 m and distance to park). Shorter distances to a park were associated with less hostile parenting.
Seeing, hearing, and judging