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1. In light of global climate change and the biodiversity crisis, making cities more resilient through an adjusted design of urban green and blue spaces is crucial.Nature-based solutions help address these challenges while providing opportunities for nature experiences, and providing cultural ecosystem services that support public health. The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated stressors highlighted the interrelated socio-ecological services provided by nature-based solutions like urban green and blue spaces.2. This pan-European study therefore aimed to enhance the socio-ecological understanding of green and blue spaces to support their design and management. Using an online survey, green and blue space preferences, usage, and pandemic-related changes in greenspace visit and outdoor recreation frequencies were examined.3. Greenspace visit and outdoor recreation frequencies were associated with respondents' (N = 584 from 15 countries) geographical location, dominant type of neighbourhood greenspace and greenspace availability during the pandemic, but not greenspace perceptions or sociodemographic background. 4. Greenspace visit and outdoor recreation frequencies were generally high; however, Southern Europeans reported lower greenspace visit and outdoor recreation frequencies both before and during the pandemic than Northern Europeans. Many Southern Europeans also reported having few neighbourhood greenspaces and low greenspace availability during the pandemic. 5. The most common outdoor recreational activity among respondents before the pandemic was walking or running with the most frequently stated purpose of time spent outdoors being restorative in nature (i.e. relaxing or calming down).Most Europeans had positive perceptions of green and blue spaces with preferences for structurally diverse and natural or unmanaged green elements.6. This highlights the importance of accessible green and blue spaces both in everyday life and during times of crisis. Stakeholders, their preferences, and regional and cultural differences should be included in the co-design of urban green and blue spaces to maximize their potential for both people and nature.

As the world’s population becomes more urbanized, there is an associated decrease in nature exposure and a rise in noncommunicable diseases, including depression. Previous cross-sectional studies examining urban nature exposure and depression have reported favorable associations. However, many of these studies rely primarily on nature exposure metrics that measure the intensity of nature exposure, while other dimensions of urban nature exposure remain understudied. Therefore, in a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based case study targeting a general urban population (n = 282), we examined the relationship between two less commonly studied urban nature exposure variables (i.e., gardening behavior and greenspace visit frequency) and depression risk while also considering sociocultural background (multivariate logistic regression model). Results indicated that being a gardener was significantly associated with a reduced odds of being at risk of depression and that having a family migration history, but not a self-migration history, was associated with increased odds of being at risk of depression. In the examination of neighborhood socialization frequency and depression risk, we did not determine any significant association. The results of this study, therefore, highlight the importance of considering both people’s sociocultural backgrounds and urban nature exposure in more detail to help plan for and support healthier cities in the future.

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