A Study of the Impact of River Improvement and Greening on Public Reassurance and the Urban Well-Being Index during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effect of river improvement and greening projects on people and the urban happiness index. First, the quantitative method was adopted, and data collected from 734 questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 software. Then, the qualitative method was used, and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect the opinions of 12 interviewees, including scholars, government employees, citizens, and practitioners. Finally, we discuss multiple comparison analysis testing. The survey results indicate that river improvement and greening projects could be conducted to take advantage of diverse ecological environments, urban transportation planning, and geographical location. Such projects can help people relieve stress, even during the COVID-19 pandemic; improve their physical and mental health; and enhance their environmental awareness. However, due to poor traffic flow, a low space utilization rate, and inflexible management practices, visiting these environments has posed a risk of infection. As a result, most respondents indicated that the leisure benefits of green fields are limited and not helpful for improving their physical and mental health or having fun. Additionally, survey responses by people from different backgrounds (p < 0.01) varied. Therefore, we believe that by providing a safe living environment, strengthening disaster prevention skills and cooperation against epidemics, reducing accident risks, improving leisure safety and fluency, and planning diverse leisure activities, we can improve people’s perception of environmental experiences, promote leisure participation, improve leisure satisfaction, and enhance well-being.

Natural environments, psychosocial health, and health behaviors in a crisis – A scoping review of the literature in the COVID-19 context

“…No direct relationships emerged with any of the other variables. Lin, Chen, Tseng, Lee, and Lin (2022) , China Questionnaire: Adults and older adults (743, largest age group (41.5%), 47%, n.a.) Interviews: River improvement participants and experts (12, n.a., n.a., n.a.)…”

Research on the impact of waterfront resources on rural leisure environment, economic development, and the awareness of physical and mental health of the elderly

“…In summary, the diversity of coastal ecosystems and the abundance of tourism resources should be beneficial to promote rural economic development and regulate the physical and mental health and well-being of the elderly (Hsu et al, 2021;Lin et al, 2021aLin et al, , 2022Wu, 2021). Although many findings are confirming this phenomenon (Jo-Hung et al, 2021;Muntifering et al, 2020), and the subject of water quality, sediment and pollutants has been emphasized (Chen, Xie, & Chen, 2019;Ma et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2019), there is still a lack of discussion on the environmental and health aspects of water resources development, and there is no survey that even discusses the case of Maluan Bay as a case study or the perceived well-being of the elderly.…”

“…As a result, they cannot steadily engage in leisure or travel activities to relieve stress and promote physical and mental health (Lu et al, 2022). Therefore, the quality of life and the sense of well-being of the elderly are reduced (Lin et al, 2022). The ageing population is bound to increase family care and financial pressure, which hinders village development and increases the cost of national medical resources and economic development burden (Zhang & Xie, 2019).…”

Safety Risk Assessment in Urban Public Space Using Structural Equation Modelling

“…Urban climate disasters are mainly manifested in floods caused by heavy rainfall and storms, fires caused by high temperatures and drought, and climate disasters also easily lead to other urban safety accidents, such as flood and waterlogging meteorological disasters, which induce geological disasters such as water and soil loss [27,30]. The impact of an urban geographical location on the safety of urban public space is mainly reflected in earthquakes [31]. Therefore, for cities located in the earthquake belt, an earthquake is an important factor affecting their safety, which not only endangers the safety of urban public space but also endangers the safety of the whole social environment.…”