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Green Space Visits and Barriers to Visiting during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Three-Wave Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Study of UK Adults

Author

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  • Hannah Burnett

    (MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK)

  • Jonathan R. Olsen

    (MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK)

  • Richard Mitchell

    (MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK)

Abstract

Green spaces have been found to promote physical activity, social contact, and mental wellbeing, however, there are inequalities in the use and experience of green spaces. The United Kingdom’s (UK) response to the COVID-19 pandemic imposed very substantial changes on its citizens’ lives which could plausibly affect their willingness to visit green spaces. These sudden lifestyle changes severely affected the population’s mental health, leading to a greater dependency on the positive influence of nature in reducing stress and improving mood. Whilst early cross-sectional evidence suggested an increased orientation to nature and visits to green spaces as a response to COVID-19 ‘lockdowns’, there is little longitudinal evidence about how sustained and equal these changes may have been. This study explored green space visits, barriers to visiting, and the inequalities of both of those over an entire year of the pandemic in the UK. Three waves of nationally representative cross-sectional surveys were administered by YouGov in April 2020, November 2020, and April 2021 (N = 6713). Data included reported visits to green spaces and, for those with no or infrequent visiting, perceived barriers including those plausibly related to the risk of COVID-19. Green space visits increased over the year as lockdown restrictions were relaxed; 68% of respondents reported green space visits in April 2021, compared with 49% in April 2020. However, the socio-economic inequalities in use were sustained and increased. COVID-19 related barriers fell over time, but there were indications of increased interest in green spaces among younger people. Further action is required to ensure that the positive impacts of green spaces are experienced equally, and that good quality green space is accessible to all.

Suggested Citation

  • Hannah Burnett & Jonathan R. Olsen & Richard Mitchell, 2022. "Green Space Visits and Barriers to Visiting during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Three-Wave Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Study of UK Adults," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-15, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:4:p:503-:d:784149
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Venter, Zander & Barton, David & gundersen, vegard & Figari, Helene & Nowell, Megan, 2020. "Urban nature in a time of crisis: recreational use of green space increases during the COVID-19 outbreak in Oslo, Norway," SocArXiv kbdum, Center for Open Science.
    2. Erica N. Spotswood & Matthew Benjamin & Lauren Stoneburner & Megan M. Wheeler & Erin E. Beller & Deborah Balk & Timon McPhearson & Ming Kuo & Robert I. McDonald, 2021. "Nature inequity and higher COVID-19 case rates in less-green neighbourhoods in the United States," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 4(12), pages 1092-1098, December.
    3. Emad B. Dawwas & Karen Dyson, 2021. "COVID-19 Changed Human-Nature Interactions across Green Space Types: Evidence of Change in Multiple Types of Activities from the West Bank, Palestine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-21, December.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Yichao He & Anna Jorgensen & Qian Sun & Amy Corcoran & Maria Jesus Alfaro-Simmonds, 2022. "Negotiating Complexity: Challenges to Implementing Community-Led Nature-Based Solutions in England Pre- and Post-COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-19, November.
    3. Alexandra Jane Crossley & Alessio Russo, 2022. "Has the Pandemic Altered Public Perception of How Local Green Spaces Affect Quality of Life in the United Kingdom?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-14, June.
    4. Mateusz Ciski & Krzysztof Rząsa, 2023. "Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression in the Investigation of Local COVID-19 Anomalies Based on Population Age Structure in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-23, May.
    5. Shiqi Wang & Ang Li, 2022. "Impacts of COVID-19 Lockdown on Use and Perception of Urban Green Spaces and Demographic Group Differences," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-18, November.
    6. Krzysztof Rząsa & Mateusz Ciski, 2022. "Influence of the Demographic, Social, and Environmental Factors on the COVID-19 Pandemic—Analysis of the Local Variations Using Geographically Weighted Regression," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-26, September.
    7. Xiu-Juan Qiao & Yizhi Liu & Jing Feng, 2022. "Evaluating the Landscape Quality of Residential Communities: A Case Study of the Chinese City Yangling," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.

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