Nature & neighbourhood: the Covid contradiction.
While the research presented thus far looks at health & wellbeing during normative time periods, often it takes a crisis for us to realise what matters most. The Covid-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions created a renewed appreciation of, and argument for, both access to green space and community connection. As one of the few areas where ‘safe’ socialisation, physical activity, and connection to nature could be experienced, public green space access was regarded as highly impactful during the time period.
In relation to physical health, the UK’s ‘stay local’ guidance and heightened stress appeared to have dichotomous impacts. People reported increased smoking and drinking, plus reductions in exercise type and frequency; but at the same time, many said they had increased their exercise levels due to fewer social demands, more leisure time created by a lack of commuting and reduced employment (Ding et al., 2020; Robinson et al., 2021).
Similarly, in relation to mental health, contradictions were also shown… New levels of neighbourhood unification and local-community driven activities were reported as increasing mental wellbeing despite the external stresses of the pandemic, but heightened neighbourhood tensions were also reported (Abrams et al., 2020; Prosser et al., 2020).
In the UK, studies were undertaken to investigate what these contradictions might be having on people’s health & wellbeing. Studies specifically focusing on green space access during the time period found that the closer people lived (or even perceived themselves to live) to public green space, the better their reported physical health and mental wellbeing. Green space proximity actually provided a protective effect for people struggling with stress (Jennings & Bamkole, 2019; Schipperijn et al., 2017; Poortinga et al. 2021).
For community cohesion, studies found that positive perceptions of neighbourhood belonging and social networks acted as a buffer against stress during the restriction period (Jaspal & Breakwell, 2022; Svensson & Elntib, 2021). In fact, even just perceiving one’s neighbourhood as more cohesive reduced the association found between more time spent inside the home and depressive symptoms during the Covid-19 restrictions, even after socio-demographic factors were accounted for (Robinette et al., 2021).
It’s clear there are vital protective effects from perceptions of community and green space proximity in times of crisis.
