Causal effect of urban parks on children’s happiness

Abstract

Many existing studies have found significant correlations between green spaces, including urban parks, and children's happiness. Furthermore, it was implied that the area/proximity of the urban park would be effective in enhancing infancy happiness. However, inferring causal effects from observed data requires appropriate adjustment of confounding variables, and from this perspective, the causal relationship between the area of urban parks and children's happiness has not been well understood. The causal effect of urban parks on children's happiness was estimated in this study using data from the panel study on Korean children. As methods for adjusting confounding variables, regression adjustment using a regression method, weighting method, and matching method were used, and key concepts of each method were described before the analysis results. Confounders were chosen for the analysis using a directed acyclic graph. In contrast to previous research, the analysis found no significant causal relationship between the size of the city park and children's happiness.