Creating Restorative Nearby Green Spaces for Knowledge Workers: Theoretical Mechanisms, Site Evaluation Criteria, and Design Guidelines

Abstract

Knowledge workers drive social and economic development in contemporary cities but often exhibit poor psychological and physical health because of sedentary work, long-term and intense mental labor, and high-level occupational competition. Thus, providing high-quality restorative green spaces in knowledge workers' proximity to promote their health and well-being has become an important and pressing need. Although the multiple health benefits of proximity to green spaces have been highlighted, the existing planning and design practices are not well supported by scientific theories and evidence.This study interprets the health benefits of proximity to green spaces in work environments considering four theoretical mechanisms: stress reduction, attention restoration and landscape preference, physical activity promotion, and sensory enrichment through an integrative literature review. Next, the paper identifies the key environmental characteristics of green spaces that can enhance the health and wellbeing of knowledge workers. In addition, it develops a set of criteria for evaluating the restorative capacity of existing sites and a set of guidelines to design restorative nearby green spaces, and proposes a simple paradigm to connect interdisciplinary research and practice.

Developing outdoor spaces for work and study—an explorative place-making process

“…It is well-documented that time outdoors and green outdoor environments are important for human development, health and wellbeing in several ways and dimensions (Frumkin et al, 2017;Hu et al, 2022), also for children and youth (Wales et al, 2022). Workplaces and schools are particularly important as people spend a large share of their time there.…”

Interdisciplinary approach to defining outdoor places of knowledge work: quantified photo analysis

“…The boundaries of living and working environments are also blurred in the ecosystem of hybrid workplaces. In this context, working outdoors is an emerging, sparsely studied phenomenon, which seems to receive increasing attention in multimethod interdisciplinary research of wellbeing and health (e.g., Mangone et al, 2017;Gritzka et al, 2020;Rudokas et al, 2020;Hu et al, 2022).…”