The Associations of Green Spaces with Older Adults’ Mental Health in Perspective of Spatiality, Sociality and Historicality

doi:10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2023.02.008

Abstract

Abstract:

The theory of health fairness requires that improving the benefits of green spaces on health should take into account the characteristics of vulnerable groups such as older adults. Until now, the comprehensive associations of green spaces metrics with older adults’ mental health are unclear in China. This study aimed to systematically assess their associations from the perspective of spatiality, sociality and historicality. Data of 879 respondents aged 60 or older in Dalian, China were used, and multilevel linear models were conducted in HLM6.08. Results indicated that in the spatial dimension, green spaces metrics derived from overhead view had a stronger association with older adults’ mental health than from street view. The park with gentle slopes and irregular boundaries was more positively related to older adults’ mental health. In the social dimension, green spaces could adjust and buffer the negative effects of socio-demographic characteristics such as having no homeownership. In the historical dimension, green spaces had a lasting effect on older adults’ mental health, especially for the group of middle income. Our findings confirm the necessity of multidimensional assessments for green spaces to examine associations with older adults’ mental health in Chinese settings. The results can provide empirical evidence for realizing fairer allocation of urban green spaces resources taking into account individual differences.

Key words: green spaces, street view, older adults, mental health, multilevel linear model

YUE Yafei, YANG Dongfeng, XU Dan. The Associations of Green Spaces with Older Adults’ Mental Health in Perspective of Spatiality, Sociality and Historicality[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2023, 14(2): 299-308.

Figures/Tables 9

References 30

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Characteristics		Calculation method	Data name
Availability	NDVI	Extracted from remote sensing images by software ENVI	Landsat-8 images
Availability	Vegetation cover rate	Extracted from globe land cover data by software ArcGIS	GLC_FCS30-2020
Visuality	Streetscape green spaces rate	Extracted from Tencent Street View data by a fully convolutional neural network	Tencent Street View data
Accessibility	Distance to park	Calculating the spatial networks distance to the latest park by software ArcGIS	Park distribution data in Dalian
Park attraction	Total number	Calculating the total number of parks in the residential buffer zone by software ArcGIS	Park distribution data in Dalian
	Number of types	Calculating the type number of parks in the residential buffer zone by software ArcGIS	Park distribution data in Dalian
	Area	Calculating the area of parks in the residential buffer zone by software ArcGIS	Park distribution data in Dalian
	Slope	Calculating the average slope of parks in the residential buffer zone by software ArcGIS	Digital Elevation Model data
	Plant diversity	Calculating the average number of plant species in the park in the residential buffer zone by software ArcGIS	GLC_FCS30-2020 and Park distribution data in Dalian
Special distribution of parks	Landscape Pattern Indexes	Calculating 10 typical LPI in area, density, shape, diversity, aggregation, proximity, etc. dimensions by software Fragstats	Park distribution data in Dalian

Characteristics		Calculation method	Data name
Availability	NDVI	Extracted from remote sensing images by software ENVI	Landsat-8 images
Availability	Vegetation cover rate	Extracted from globe land cover data by software ArcGIS	GLC_FCS30-2020
Visuality	Streetscape green spaces rate	Extracted from Tencent Street View data by a fully convolutional neural network	Tencent Street View data
Accessibility	Distance to park	Calculating the spatial networks distance to the latest park by software ArcGIS	Park distribution data in Dalian
Park attraction	Total number	Calculating the total number of parks in the residential buffer zone by software ArcGIS	Park distribution data in Dalian
	Number of types	Calculating the type number of parks in the residential buffer zone by software ArcGIS	Park distribution data in Dalian
	Area	Calculating the area of parks in the residential buffer zone by software ArcGIS	Park distribution data in Dalian
	Slope	Calculating the average slope of parks in the residential buffer zone by software ArcGIS	Digital Elevation Model data
	Plant diversity	Calculating the average number of plant species in the park in the residential buffer zone by software ArcGIS	GLC_FCS30-2020 and Park distribution data in Dalian
Special distribution of parks	Landscape Pattern Indexes	Calculating 10 typical LPI in area, density, shape, diversity, aggregation, proximity, etc. dimensions by software Fragstats	Park distribution data in Dalian

Variable	Levels	N	Percentage (%)	Variable	Levels	N	Percentage (%)
Age	60-70	394	44.8	Number of co-occupants	1	116	13.2
	71-80	293	33.3		2	388	44.1
	> 81	192	21.8		3 and more	375	42.7
Gender	Male	406	46.2	Monthly income level (yuan)	0-1000	116	13.2
Gender	Female	473	53.8		1001-2000	63	7.2
Pre-retirement occupation	Intellectual work	314	35.7		2001-3000	242	27.5
	Manual work	505	57.5		3001-4000	242	27.5
	Other	60	6.8		>4000	216	24.6
Education level				Homeownership	Own	571	65.0
	Primary school or lower	300	34.1		Kinsfolks	261	29.7
	Middle school	274	31.2		Others	47	5.3
	High school	192	21.8	Number of years living at the current address	0-4	169	19.2
	College/university	113	12.9		5-10	167	19.0
					> 10	543	61.8

Variable	Levels	N	Percentage (%)	Variable	Levels	N	Percentage (%)
Age	60-70	394	44.8	Number of co-occupants	1	116	13.2
	71-80	293	33.3		2	388	44.1
	> 81	192	21.8		3 and more	375	42.7
Gender	Male	406	46.2	Monthly income level (yuan)	0-1000	116	13.2
Gender	Female	473	53.8		1001-2000	63	7.2
Pre-retirement occupation	Intellectual work	314	35.7		2001-3000	242	27.5
	Manual work	505	57.5		3001-4000	242	27.5
	Other	60	6.8		>4000	216	24.6
Education level				Homeownership	Own	571	65.0
	Primary school or lower	300	34.1		Kinsfolks	261	29.7
	Middle school	274	31.2		Others	47	5.3
	High school	192	21.8	Number of years living at the current address	0-4	169	19.2
	College/university	113	12.9		5-10	167	19.0
					> 10	543	61.8

Characteristics		Min	Max	Mean	Standard deviation
Availability	NDVI	0.043	0.110	0.073	0.015
Availability	Vegetation cover rate	0.002	0.614	0.116	0.119
Visuality	Streetscape green spaces rate	0.059	0.457	0.183	0.073
Accessibility	Distance to park (m)	0.000	1189.782	295.049	244.775
Park attraction	Total number (number)	0.000	8.000	2.020	2.061
	Number of types (number)	0.000	3.000	1.130	0.763
	Area (m²)	0.000	98633.000	14039.260	17834.518
	Slope (degree)	0.000	20.000	6.550	4.927
	Plant diversity (number)	0.000	5.000	1.030	1.268
Special distribution of parks	Average patch size (ha)	0.000	11.340	0.816	2.289
	Average perimeter-area ratio	0.000	1333.333	226.188	403.214
	Average proximity index	0.000	23.200	0.533	2.988
	Degree of aggregation (%)	0.000	100.000	19.980	35.222