The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on green space use in Turkey: Is closing green spaces for use a solution?

How the COVID-19 pandemic changed patterns of green infrastructure use: A scoping review

“…Activities that decreased included traveling ( Grzyb et al, 2021 ), group activities ( Jenkins et al, 2021 ), and camping and relaxing with others ( Morse et al, 2020 ). Erdönmez and Atmiş (2021) found that picnics did not increase, but a respondent in Herman and Drozda (2021) observed more people having picnics. In line with people undertaking new activities during the pandemic, Herman and Drozda (2021) also found that people used recreational spaces differently than before and that these activities were rare or did not occur before the pandemic.…”

“…Changes in activities varied. Activities that increased included visiting GI with children or grandchildren, dog walking, being with family or friends, exercising, and undertaking a new activity ( [24] , [55] , [67] ), vigorous exercise ( Grzyb et al, 2021 ), and foraging, gardening, hiking, photography, relaxing alone, walking, and wildlife watching ( Morse et al, 2020 ). Activities that decreased included traveling ( Grzyb et al, 2021 ), group activities ( Jenkins et al, 2021 ), and camping and relaxing with others ( Morse et al, 2020 ).…”

Changes in visits to green spaces due to the COVID-19 pandemic: Focusing on the proportion of repeat visitors and the distances between green spaces and visitors’ places of residences

“…To prevent the spread of the disease, social distancing measures, including encouraging people to “stay-at-home,” have been implemented worldwide. Additionally, some countries have restricted access to green spaces, including closing parks or allowing only limited use ( Erdönmez and Atmiş, 2021 , Freeman and Eykelbosh, 2020 , Slater et al, 2020 ). As a result, daily exercise and movement, except where accessing food and health care is concerning, were significantly limited in many countries, including the UK and Australia.…”

Spatial statistical analysis of the relationship between self-reported mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown and closeness to green infrastructure

“…Despite their epidemiological effectiveness to attenuate past and present waves, lockdowns have resulted in isolation, stress, depression or anxiety ( Salari et al, 2020 ). Unlike physical needs, which can be satisfied outside green areas ( Erdönmez and Atmiş, 2021 ), the relevance of GI in terms of mental health has been emphasized in recent studies such as Dushkova et al (2021) , where the limited access of people to green spaces produced by lockdowns was found to have negative psychological effects. This is aligned with the conclusions drawn by Venter et al (2020) and Geng et al (2021) , who highlighted a significant increase in the recreational use of green areas under flexible confinement conditions.…”