Introduction
Urban green spaces are quite important for psychological well-being, especially for those who live in densely populated areas. More recent research on the topic has focused on the psychological benefits of parks, including how they can help control anxiety disorder symptoms in urban environments. However, there are large gaps in the study of this topic, particularly in the detailed examination of the impact of urban green space.
NatureāBased Coping Mechanism
One possible strategy to manage the detrimental effects of significant stressful life events on one’s physical and mental health is to spend time in nature. Restrictions aimed at stopping the COVID-19 pandemic affected a significant portion of the world’s population in 2020. This was a time of significant health hazards and behavioral shifts.
Berdejo-Espinola et al. (2020) examined whether people increased their time spent in nature in response to this stressor and looked into the causes of any observed changes. They conducted a survey to gauge how people used green spaces differently during the restrictions and what advantages came with going there (Berdejo-Espinol et al., 2020). At the same time, gaps remained in the study regarding how nature-based copying mechanisms form, as prior studies have documented their manifestation but not the process by which they arise.
Changes in Anxiety Symptoms over Time
Living in an area with higher greenspace coverage, independent of population density, area deprivation levels, sociodemographics, and health profiles, was associated with fewer anxiety symptoms. The study by Bu et al. (2022) examined the relationship between green space and the COVID-19 pandemic-related growth trajectories of anxiety symptoms and confirmed this relationship. However, there was insufficient data to link green space to changes in anxiety symptoms over time (Bu et al., 20220). The distance to the closest green space did not correlate with anxiety trajectories, a research gap that remains.
Evaluating Patients in Primary Care
The world’s population is expected to live in urban regions during the greatest wave of urban expansion in history. For the majority of mental health conditions, primary care is the initial setting of therapy. Given the inherent connection between health and urban environments, Callaghan et al. (2020) investigated the effectiveness of nature-based solutions for mental health issues. The majority of the studies’ population samples were from national survey data and were not primarily primary care patients (Callaghan et al., 2020). Therefore, it is necessary to conduct more research that precisely evaluates patients in primary care, a gap that currently exists.
Impact on Low-Income Communities
The COVID-19 pandemic has had disastrous effects on the social, health, and economic spheres. Nevertheless, the impact on people’s relationships to essential ecological supports, such as access to green space, has gotten far less attention. Helo et al. (2021) evaluated how often people used green spaces in connection to both environmental and individual characteristics, as well as how often they had psychiatric symptoms throughout the pandemic. Results point to the possibility that restrictions on using green spaces may rob people of their mental health advantages and negatively impact mental health during a pandemic (Heo et al., 2021). However, low-income communities occupied an insignificant group, and the impact on this segment is a research gap.
Potential of Urban Green Spaces
Since humans have spent a great deal of time evolving in their natural surroundings, they are accustomed to adapting to it. In an urban framework, green spaces are essential landscapes that both provide a natural environment and enhance other living conditions. On the other hand, natural environmental resources have been harmed by uncontrolled development and the transition from green to gray constructions. To analyze the importance of urban green areas for human well-being, a systematic review by Jabbar et al. (2022) was conducted. It has demonstrated the value of urban green spaces for human well-being (Jabbar et al., 2022). However, their function must now be determined in light of their potential, which remains a research gap.
Green Space-Based Lockdown Strategy
An increasing body of research suggests that ecosystem services, particularly time spent in the natural environment, may be beneficial to mental health and overall well-being. Pouso et al. (2021) investigated whether, when under lockdown and unable to interact with outdoor natural areas, people will exhibit more signs of anxiety and despair. By leveraging the benefits of ecosystem services, these findings can assist policymakers in developing viable lockdown strategies for the future to reduce negative effects (Pouso et al., 2021). However, at the moment, there is not even an approximate list of lockdown strategies using green city space, which remains a research gap.
Size & Structure Importance
People can benefit greatly from public urban green spaces in various ways. Future planning and design of public urban green areas may benefit from an understanding of the connections between these features and aspects of human well-being. Therefore, the study conducted by Reyes-Riveros et al. (2021) examined the connections between the unique features of green areas and aspects of human well-being. Categories were identified for the features of green spaces that were reported in 153 articles: structure, biodiversity, naturalness, and others (Reyes-Riveros et al., 2021). However, no relationship has been established between the size and structure categories of green areas and anxiety reduction, representing a research gap.
Impact on Elderly & Disabled Residents
Many nations implemented lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic to flatten their epidemic curves. Many people experienced mental health problems in the interim. There is, however, little data to support the notion that, in the absence of public green areas, homeowners with diverse landscape tastes can benefit psychologically from having greenery in their homes.
Zhang et al. (2023) created a questionnaire on inhabitants’ anxiety, their preferences for landscapes and houseplants, and their views of greenery outside their windows. They found that providing outdoor plants to homes in pandemic-prone areas is a rapid way to reduce anxiety and increase green space in residential settings, thereby contributing to sustainability (Zhang et al., 2023). However, there were not enough elderly or disabled residents among the respondents, and the impact of increased landscaping on this category of citizens remains a research gap.
Conclusion
Therefore, there are quite a lot of research gaps in the field of psychological aspects of urban green spaces on individuals with anxiety disorders. Most of the research was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, so little is known about the impact of green spaces without lockdown. Moreover, research most often focuses on the general population, and the impact on particular categories of citizens, such as low-income families, people with disabilities, or the elderly, is insufficiently demonstrated. There are no studies revealing dependence on the size and type of green zone. All these gaps create a space for future research, which is very important to conduct in the context of growing urbanization.
References
Berdejo-Espinola, V., SuƔrez-Castr, A. F., Amano,T., Fielding, K. S., Oh, R. R., & Fuller, R. A. (2020). Urban green space use during a time of stress: A case study during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brisbane, Australia. People and Nature, 3(50), 597-609.
Bu, F., Mak, H. W., Steptoe, A., Wheeler, B. W., & Fancourt, D. (2022). Urban greenspace and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: A 20-month follow up of 19,848 participants in England. Health & Place, 77.
Callaghan, A., McCombe, G., Harrold, A., McMeel, C., Mills, G., Moore-Cherry, N., & Cullen, W. (2020). The impact of green spaces on mental health in urban settings: A scoping review. Journal of Mental Health, 3(1), 1-15.
Heo, S., Desai, M. U., Lowe, S. R., & Bell, M. L. (2021). Impact of changed use of greenspace during Covid-19 pandemic on depression and anxiety. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(11), 117-122.
Jabbar, M., Yusoff, M. M., & Shafie, A. L. (2022). Assessing the role of urban green spaces for human well-being: A systematic review. GeoJournal, 87(245), 4405-4423.
Pouso, S., Borja, A., Fleming, L. E., GĆ³mez-Baggethun, E., White, M. P., & Uyarra, M. C. (2021). Contact with blue-green spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown beneficial for mental health. Science of the Total Environment, 756(143984), 1-15.
Reyes-Riveros, R., Altamiran, A., Barrera, F. D., Rozas-VƔsquez, D., Vieli, L., & Meli, P. (2021). Linking public urban green spaces and human well-being: A systematic review. People and Nature, 61(1), 1-13.
Zhang, Z., Zhang, H., Yang, H., & Zhong, B. (2023). Home Greenery: Alleviating anxiety during lockdowns with varied landscape preferences. Sustainability, 15(21).