TY - JOUR
T1 - Do spatial boundaries matter for exploring the impact of community green spaces on health?
AU - Shin, Jong Cheol
AU - Kwan, Mei Po
AU - Grigsby-Toussaint, Diana S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: Mei-Po Kwan was supported by a grant from the Research Committee on Research Sustainability of Major RGC Funding Schemes of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2020/10/2
Y1 - 2020/10/2
N2 - Green space exposure is thought to have a positive influence on physical activity behavior and overall health. However, the literature remains equivocal, and green space measurement methods remain complicated. Using data from the Illinois Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, this study examines the influence of green space on health-related factors, such as exercise, physical health, and mental health. Moreover, we explore the methods for measuring community green space via various spatial boundaries and green space resources. The results show that combining two contextually designated census boundaries and a measure of green space with seasonality were the best spatial conceptualizations for capturing community green space. Moreover, the findings showed a positive influence of green space exposure on health outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of considering geographic contexts of daily human behaviors and green space seasonality in providing a better understanding of the influence of community activity space on environmental exposure measurement. Further, this work contributes to community planning for encouraging health-promoting behaviors.
AB - Green space exposure is thought to have a positive influence on physical activity behavior and overall health. However, the literature remains equivocal, and green space measurement methods remain complicated. Using data from the Illinois Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, this study examines the influence of green space on health-related factors, such as exercise, physical health, and mental health. Moreover, we explore the methods for measuring community green space via various spatial boundaries and green space resources. The results show that combining two contextually designated census boundaries and a measure of green space with seasonality were the best spatial conceptualizations for capturing community green space. Moreover, the findings showed a positive influence of green space exposure on health outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of considering geographic contexts of daily human behaviors and green space seasonality in providing a better understanding of the influence of community activity space on environmental exposure measurement. Further, this work contributes to community planning for encouraging health-promoting behaviors.
KW - Community activity space
KW - Environmental exposure
KW - Exercise
KW - Green space
KW - Health
KW - Physical activity
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U2 - 10.3390/ijerph17207529
DO - 10.3390/ijerph17207529
M3 - Article
C2 - 33081185
AN - SCOPUS:85092566819
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 17
SP - 1
EP - 17
JO - International journal of environmental research and public health
JF - International journal of environmental research and public health
IS - 20
M1 - 7529
ER -