Effect of Greening Vacant Land on Mental Health of Community-Dwelling Adults

Abstract

Key Points Question Does the greening of vacant urban land reduce self-reported poor mental health in community-dwelling adults? Findings In this cluster randomized trial of urban greening and mental health, 110 randomly sampled vacant lot clusters were randomly assigned to 3 study groups. Among 342 participants included in the analysis, feeling depressed significantly decreased by 41.5% and self-reported poor mental health showed a reduction of 62.8% for those living near greened vacant lots compared with control participants. Meaning The remediation of vacant and dilapidated physical environments, particularly in resource-limited urban settings, can be an important tool for communities to address mental health problems, alongside other patient-level treatments.

Managed retreat through voluntary buyouts of flood-prone properties

“…Second, buyouts create many benefits that are not easily quantifiable in monetary terms. The open space resulting from buyouts may carry greater benefits in more urban areas with greater land competition by, for example, enabling recreation, nature conservation, or community revitalization in addition to flood mitigation (14,(29)(30)(31). In understanding the benefits of retreat, multimetric consideration in monetary and broader terms may be important in understanding outcomes, including in urban areas with interacting drivers and land uses.…”

Is biodiversity needed for sustainability? A spotlight on urban landscapes

“…Urban populations also place a higher importance on regulating services like air and water purification that counteract the waste and pollution urban residents regularly experience that is produced from resource consumption (Martín‐López et al., ). In addition, the cultural ecosystem services generated by urban green infrastructure can provide benefits such as fewer gun assaults and improved mental health, and these benefits may be enhanced in lower‐income neighborhoods (Kondo et al., ; South et al., ). Because these urban‐valued ecosystem services may not be investigated in rural areas, how biodiversity supports these and other services is not well understood.…”

Returning to our roots: The use of geospatial data for nurse‐led community research

“…The policy is often driven by large‐scale studies using national or regional geospatial data (Zook, Wollersheim, Erbas, & Jacobsen, ). One research team investigated relationships between “greening” vacant lots (i.e., adding plants and vegetation) and outcomes such as neighborhood crime and mental health (Kondo, Hohl, Han, & Branas, ; South, Hohl, Kondo, MacDonald, & Branas, ). The results of these studies, utilizing geospatial data to test interventions, demonstrated the positive health benefits of neighborhood greenspace in urban cities.…”

“…The policy is often driven by large-scale studies using national or regional geospatial data (Zook, Wollersheim, Erbas, & Jacobsen, 2018). One research team investigated relationships between "greening" vacant lots (i.e., adding plants and vegetation) and outcomes such as neighborhood crime and mental health (Kondo, Hohl, Han, & Branas, 2016;South, Hohl, Kondo, MacDonald, & Branas, 2018)…”