AsianScientist (Jan. 08, 2025) –It’s no secret that spending time in nature is important to human health and wellbeing, so much so that the United Nations has declared access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment to be a human right.
Access to the natural world can be elusive in urban areas, particularly in megacities where rapid urban development can leave residents disconnected from nature. But policymakers tend to disregard this issue, believing it to be addressed through economic growth, according to environmental scientist Uchiyama Yuta, who works at the Kobe University. Megacities in particular suffer from a lack of evidence to drive policymaking towards implementing measures to facilitate time in nature.
In a study intended to address this lack, Uchiyama and his team at Kobe University have discovered that spots of nature near locations frequented in people’s daily lives can facilitate more time spent visiting green spaces.
The researchers surveyed 3500 residents from Tokyo-Yohokama and Osaka-Kobe, the largest metropolitan areas in Japan, to discover how the accessibility of green and blue spaces in their daily lives affected their habits in visiting the natural environment.
While previous studies have focused on the effects of green spaces near residential areas, Uchiyama chose a different approach, drawing inspiration from personal experience. “Both now and in my childhood, encountering plants and animals (even wild boars on campus) on my way to work, school, or shopping lets me feel the seasons and forget my daily life for a moment.”
Analysing the survey responses with statistical models and GIS analysis, the researchers found patterns of green space visitation associated with land use and land type. Agricultural lands near residential areas were often visited by respondents, as well as deciduous forests near shopping areas and commute destinations.
“This result can be used as evidence for policy making, especially in the fields of environmental management and urban planning,” said Uchiyama. “There is potential for the utility of green spaces not only around residential areas but throughout people’s daily environments.”
Irregularly shaped agricultural lands attracted more frequent visits. The longer perimeter associated with the odd shapes of these green areas provide more chances for entry.
These complex landscapes are reminiscent of ‘satoyama’, a traditional Japanese landscape that forms a mosaic of agriculture, nature, and human settlements. In East and Southeast Asia, this blurred division between urban and rural areas is common, and the research results suggest that these landscapes can help maintain our connection to nature.
Apart from land use, personal factors like civic participation and nature experience helped drive visits to green spaces, suggesting that organized activities in natural spaces could further encourage this behaviour by nurturing appreciation for nature.
The researchers plan to continue in this vein, tracking health outcomes associated with green spaces, as well as using GPS data from mobile phones to more precisely trace people’s exposure to nature.
Uchiyama is optimistic for the future. “In the end, I would like for our research to contribute to policies reducing the unequal access to nature, which we believe is a root cause of other social and environmental issues. After all, access to nature is a basic human right.”
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Source: Kobe University; Image: VTT Studio/Shutterstock
The article can be found at: Local environment perceived in daily life and urban green and blue space visits: Uncovering key factors for different age groups to access ecosystem services
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.
