scholarly journals Effects of Urban Green Space on Cardiovascular and Respiratory Biomarkers: a Panel Study Using Digital Tracking Devices in Chinese Adults (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Yang ◽  
Ka Long Chan ◽  
John Yuen ◽  
Frances K.Y. Wong ◽  
Lefei Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Causal Relationship ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Physical Activities ◽  
Chinese Adults ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Hs Crp ◽  
Tracking Devices

BACKGROUND Health benefits of urban green space have been widely reported in literature, but the biological mechanisms remain unexplored and a causal relationship cannot be established between green space exposure and cardiorespiratory health. OBJECTIVE We conducted a panel study using personal tracking devices to continuously collect the individual exposure data in healthy Chinese adults aged 50 to 64 years living in Hong Kong. METHODS A panel of cardiorespiratory biomarkers were tested each week for a period of consecutive five weeks. Weekly exposure to green space, air pollution and physical activities of individual participants was collected by personal tracking devices. The effects of green space exposure measured by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) at the buffer zones of 100-, 250- and 500-meters on a panel of cardiorespiratory biomarkers were estimated by a generalized linear mixed-effects model, with adjustment for confounding variables of sociodemographic characteristics, exposure to air pollutants and noise, exercises and nutrient intakes. RESULTS A total of 39 participants (mean age 56.4 years, range 50-63 years) were recruited and followed up for five consecutive weeks. After adjustment for sex, income, occupation, physical activities, dietary intake, noise and air pollution, significant negative associations with the 250m-buffer NDVI were found in total cholesterol (-21.6% per IQR increase in NDVI, 95% confidence interval (CI) -32.7%, -10.6%), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) (-14.9%, 95% CI -23.4%, -6.4%), glucose (-11.2%, 95% CI -21.9%, -0.5%) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (-41.3%, 95% CI -81.7%, -0.9%). Similar effect estimates were found for the 100m- and 250m-buffer. After adjustment for multiple testing, the effect estimates of glucose and hs-CRP were no longer significant. CONCLUSIONS Health benefits of green space can be found in some metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers. Further studies are warranted to establish the causal relationship of green space and cardiorespiratory health. CLINICALTRIAL

scholarly journals Air Pollution and Urban Green Space: Evidence of Environmental Injustice in Adama, Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Flanagan ◽  
Kristoffer Mattisson ◽  
John Walles ◽  
Asmamaw Abera ◽  
Axel Eriksson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Household Air Pollution ◽  
Environmental Injustice ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Air Pollution Exposure ◽  
Pollution Exposure

While air pollution data in Ethiopia is limited, existing studies indicate high levels of both ambient and household air pollution; rapid urbanization also threatens the preservation of urban green spaces. In this study, environmental injustice, or the disproportionate burden of environmental exposures on persons of lower socioeconomic status (SES), was explored among women in Ethiopia using a mother and child cohort from the city of Adama. Land-use regression models were previously developed for modeling ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) throughout Adama, while household air pollution (cooking fuel type) and the presence of green space were assessed through questionnaires and home visits, respectively. The odds of being exposed to these environmental factors were analyzed in association with two SES indicators, education and occupation, using logistic regression. Our results indicate the presence of environmental injustice in Adama, as women with lower SES shouldered a higher burden of air pollution exposure and enjoyed less urban green space than their higher SES counterparts. These findings encourage the prioritization of air quality control and urban planning resources toward policy action within lower SES areas. From a societal perspective, our results also support more upstream interventions, including investment in educational and occupational opportunities. Still, a human rights approach is emphasized, as governments are responsible for protecting the right to a clean environment, especially for those disproportionately exposed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on environmental injustice in Ethiopia, and the first in Sub-Saharan Africa to investigate the inequalities of ambient and household air pollution exposure as well as urban green space access in the same cohort.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Equity and Regional Management of Some Urban Green Space Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Main Urban Area of Xi’an City

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 813
Author(s):  
Hui Dang ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Yumeng Zhang ◽  
Zixiang Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Deposition Flux ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Xi’An City

Urban green spaces can provide many types of ecosystem services for residents. An imbalance in the pattern of green spaces leads to an inequality of the benefits of such spaces. Given the current situation of environmental problems and the basic geographical conditions of Xi’an City, this study evaluated and mapped four kinds of ecosystem services from the perspective of equity: biodiversity, carbon sequestration, air purification, and climate regulation. Regionalization with dynamically constrained agglomerative clustering and partitioning (REDCAP) was used to obtain the partition groups of ecosystem services. The results indicate that first, the complexity of the urban green space community is low, and the level of biodiversity needs to be improved. The dry deposition flux of particulate matter (PM2.5) decreases from north to south, and green spaces enhance the adsorption of PM2.5. Carbon sequestration in the south and east is higher than that in the north and west, respectively. The average surface temperature in green spaces is lower than that in other urban areas. Second, urban green space resources in the study area are unevenly distributed. Therefore, ecosystem services in different areas are inequitable. Finally, based on the regionalization of integrated ecosystem services, an ecosystem services cluster was developed. This included 913 grid spaces, 12 partitions, and 5 clusters, which can provide a reference for distinct levels of ecosystem services management. This can assist urban managers who can use these indicators of ecosystem service levels for planning and guiding the overall development pattern of green spaces. The benefits would be a maximization of the ecological functions of green spaces, an improvement of the sustainable development of the city, and an improvement of people’s well-being.

scholarly journals Urban green space soundscapes and their perceived restorativeness

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konrad Uebel ◽  
Melissa Marselle ◽  
Angela J. Dean ◽  
Jonathan R. Rhodes ◽  
Aletta Bonn
Keyword(s):  
Green Space ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Urban Green
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