Relations between Urban Bird and Plant Communities and Human Well-Being and Connection to Nature

Luck, Gary W.; Davidson, Penny; Boxall, Dianne; Smallbone, Lisa

doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01685.x

Cited by 196 publications

(143 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Previous studies support our assumption and the perception of urban green space has often focused on conspicuous plants (Fuller et al 2007;Dallimer et al 2012;Shwartz et al 2014;Carrus et al 2015;Shanahan et al 2015). Moreover, vegetation cover was positively related to personal well-being in a study comprising 9 Australian towns and cities (Luck et al 2011). Future studies on perception of urban vegetation should focus on possible positive covariation between species richness and vegetation cover because it is not well known whether people differentiate between them.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

“…Previous investigations in urban green space in England have indicated that bird species richness can be positively associated with Bcontinuity with past and attachment ( Fuller et al 2007). Luck et al (2011) found bird abundance to be related to personal well-being but only weakly. In our sampling we also included bumblebees because they are highly conspicuous arthropods and their abundance in cities is often positively associated with an abundance of flowering plants (Matteson and Langellotto 2010;Gunnarsson and Federsel 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other studies have indicated that urban areas with a high level of both plant and animal biodiversity contribute to the well-being, or positive emotions, of city inhabitants (e.g. Luck et al 2011;Hedblom et al 2014;Carrus et al 2015) but it is unknown whether the participants based their judgements on actual biodiversity. Thus, there is uncertainty about the congruence between Bobjectively^measured and Bsubjectively^perceived biodiversity in urban green space.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of biodiversity and environment-related attitude on perception of urban green space

et al. 2016

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Green space in cities contributes to the quality of life for city dwellers, e.g., by increasing the opportunity for recreation. However, perception of urban green space is influenced by multiple factors. We investigated effects of biodiversity and environment-related attitudes on visual and auditory perceptions of urban green space. Field measurements of biodiversity were conducted in six sites across an urban gradient in Gothenburg, Sweden, and three categories of biodiversity-high, medium, low-were established. Households were sent a survey on aesthetic perception of urban green space, sound perception and the importance of trees and plants for the perception of bird species. Each respondent focused on the site that was located nearby. The environment-related attitudes comprised BNature-oriented^and BUrban-oriented^persons and were based on participants' own attitude estimations. It was shown that participants' Bsubjective^aesthetic and sound-related perception of urban greenery were in line with the Bobjectively^measured subdivisions of high, medium and low biodiversity. So also were their estimations of the importance of trees and plants for perception of bird species in urban greenery, although differing only between high and medium/ low biodiversity conditions. Persons rating themselves as highly nature-oriented were shown to give higher scores to urban green space aesthetics and to value greenery-related sounds higher, and to attach greater importance to trees and plants in their perception of bird species in urban greenery, than less nature-oriented persons. Highly urban-oriented persons compared to less urban-oriented persons did the same, but only regarding urban greenery-related aesthetics and sounds of nature. We conclude that environment-related attitudes influence perceptions of green space. Moreover, our findings support the idea that biodiversity per se also influences perceptions; people value green space significantly more with high than with low measured biodiversity. Urban planning needs to provide city inhabitants with green spaces that are species-rich, lush, varied and rich with natural sounds.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of biodiversity and environment-related attitude on perception of urban green space

et al. 2016

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“…One study found that homes surrounded by more greenery (e.g., trees and grass) are associated with reduced internal family conflict (71). A more recent study demonstrated a positive effect of vegetation on the personal well-being of city dwellers and weak positive associations of wellbeing with species richness and bird abundance (72). Deep interconnections have been found between mental well-being and living in close relationship with animals.…”

Section: Livingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Humans and Nature: How Knowing and Experiencing Nature Affect Well-Being

Russell¹,

Guerry²,

Balvanera

et al. 2013

Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour.

536

348

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Ecosystems provide many of the material building blocks for human well-being. Although quantification and appreciation of such contributions have rapidly grown, our dependence upon cultural connections to nature deserves more attention. We synthesize multidisciplinary peerreviewed research on contributions of nature or ecosystems to human well-being mediated through nontangible connections (such as culture). We characterize these connections on the basis of the channels through which such connections arise (i.e., knowing, perceiving, interacting with, and living within) and the components of human well-being they affect (e.g., physical, mental and spiritual health, inspiration, identity). We found enormous variation in the methods used, quantity of research, and generalizability of the literature. The effects of nature on mental and physical health have been rigorously demonstrated, whereas other effects (e.g., on learning) are theorized but seldom demonstrated. The balance of evidence indicates conclusively that knowing and experiencing nature makes us generally happier, healthier people. More fully characterizing our intangible connections with nature will help shape decisions that benefit people and the ecosystems on which we depend.

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“…Carbon storage helps mitigate climate change at the global scale by offsetting the urban footprint [37], while at the regional and local scale it contributes to improving air quality [12,26]. Habitat provision in the urban landscape is strongly linked to biodiversity and to the well-being of urban inhabitants [23,[38][39][40][41][42][43]. In comparison to carbon and biodiversity, recreation potential has a more local effect as it relates to the provision of space for leisure, contemplation and exercising which has been linked to improve public health [44].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconnecting Cities To The Biosphere: Stewardship Of Green Infrastructure And Urban Ecosystem Services

2015

Urban Ecology

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Our world is increasingly urbanizing which is highlighting that sustainable cities are essential for maintaining human wellbeing. This research is one of the first attempts to globally synthesize the effects of urbanization on ecosystem services and how these relate to governance, social development and climate. Three urban vegetation ecosystem services (carbon storage, recreation potential and habitat potential) were quantified for a selection of a hundred cities. Estimates of ecosystem services were obtained from the analysis of satellite imagery and the use of well-known carbon and structural habitat models. We found relationships between ecosystem services, social development, climate and governance, however these varied according to the service studied. Recreation potential was positively related to democracy and negatively related to population. Carbon storage was weakly related to temperature and democracy, while habitat potential was negatively related to democracy. We found that cities under 1 million inhabitants tended to have higher levels of recreation potential than larger cities and that democratic countries have higher recreation potential, especially if located in a continental climate. Carbon storage was higher in full democracies, especially in a continental climate, while habitat potential tended to be higher in authoritarian and hybrid regimes. Similar to other regional or city studies we found that the combination of environment conditions, socioeconomics, demographics and politics determines the provision of ecosystem services. Results from this study showed the existence of environmental injustice in the developing world.

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Relations between Urban Bird and Plant Communities and Human Well-Being and Connection to Nature

Cited by 196 publications

References 33 publications

Effects of biodiversity and environment-related attitude on perception of urban green space

Effects of biodiversity and environment-related attitude on perception of urban green space

Humans and Nature: How Knowing and Experiencing Nature Affect Well-Being

Reconnecting Cities To The Biosphere: Stewardship Of Green Infrastructure And Urban Ecosystem Services

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