1 How Physical Amenities Relate to the Mental Well-being of Columbus Residents Kori Goldberg ...

40 Pages·2016·1.05 MB·English

How Physical Amenities Relate to the Mental Well-being of Columbus Residents

Kori Goldberg

Advisor: Jeremy Brooks
School of Environment and Natural Resources
The Ohio State University
Spring 2016
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Introduction

The 2014 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index analyzed data concerning the well-being of
individuals in every metropolitan statistical area of the U.S. to learn more about the
nation’s well-being. The “happiest” metropolitan areas tended to be those with low
unemployment rates, low poverty rates, and warm climates. Unfortunately, Ohio had two
cities ranked in the top ten “unhappiest” areas, one of which was Columbus, which ranked
eighth from the bottom of the 2014 well-being study. Ohio has consistently had one of the
ten lowest scores for statewide well-being since 2008 when the study began. Well-being is
important because it is an indication of individuals’ satisfaction with life and high life
satisfaction encourages people to stay in communities and help them thrive. In addition,
policy experts care about well-being because it is one of many ways to measure and
understand the success and progress of a community.

Well-being is often described as having many components and these components are
categorized differently depending on the field of study and the objective of the researcher
(Layard, 2010). For instance, Völker and Kistemann (2011) describe well-being as a “a
complex measurable subjective state of consciousness comprised of multiple distinct
components.” An important component of well-being is mental health. Research that either
directly or indirectly addresses well-being commonly refers to this psychological aspect of
well-being as “positive mental health” or, as it is referred to throughout this thesis, “mental
well-being” (MWB) (Ruth et al., 2007).

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Mental health is defined by the World Health Organization as “a state of well-being in which
every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life,
can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his
community” (WHO, 2014). Healthy, prosperous, and cooperative communities rely on
mentally healthy residents because mental health determines the extent to which residents
can successfully overcome challenges and contribute economically and socially to their
community (Galson, 2009). A complex combination of lifestyle factors and circumstances
affect emotional, spiritual, and intellectual well-being, or collectively, MWB (Corvalan et al.,
2005). In this study, mental well-being is measured using five self-reported factors:
spiritual health, happiness, enjoyment of leisure time, positivity, and life satisfaction.

The assessment of individual mental well-being is complex because many factors have been
found to affect it. The effects of different life factors on MWB are difficult to measure and
disentangle from each other (Diener and Suh, 2000). Some identified factors that affect
well-being include income, race, gender, and type and state of government (2000). There
are some specific factors that consistently show relationships with mental well-being; one
with significant potential to affect MWB is the physical surroundings of an area (Jackson,
2003).

Promising research at the nexus of environmental psychology and urban planning has
shown that well-being and physical surroundings are affected by each other (Lee and
Maheswaran, 2010). Three aspects specifically, green space, blue space, and walkability
may affect MWB. Green space is space in an urban area covered in grass, trees, or other
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vegetation. Blue space refers to space that is covered by or in close proximity to rivers,
lakes, ocean, or any other natural or manmade water features. Walkability is a measure of
how feasible and comfortable it is to accomplish pedestrian activities in a neighborhood.
Importantly, there is a growing amount of literature exploring the relationship between
such urban environmental amenities and levels of mental distress (White et al., 2013;
Karmanov and Hamel, 2008; Volker and Kistemann, 2011).

For instance, high-quality, accessible green and blue space may contribute to higher overall
scores of communities’ mental well-being (Karmanov and Hamel, 2008). A study on three
communities in New Hampshire found that urban planning practices that lead to higher
levels of walkability have implications for higher overall quality of life (Rogers et al., 2010).
As more research is executed and published, especially in areas like the Midwest where
minimal research has been done, planners may gain stronger justification when advocating
for higher quality and quantity of these amenities in urban areas. This study aims to shed
light on several questions related to environmental amenities and levels of mental well-
being.

1) First, does the availability of green space (parks, cemeteries, golf courses) in one’s
neighborhood correlate with overall mental well-being or a specific measure of
mental health (happiness)?
2) Does the availability of blue space in a neighborhood correlate with overall mental
well-being of residents or a specific measure of mental health (happiness)?
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3) How, if at all, does neighborhood walkability (measured as sidewalk length) relate
to mental well-being?

Background

Both the natural and built environment have daily and significant effects on our mental
state and behaviors (Jackson, 2003). Three aspects of neighborhood design that may affect
MWB are green space, blue space and the walkability of the area.

The biophilia hypothesis, put forth by E.O. Wilson, suggests that interaction with the
environment and its living components is fundamental to human well-being (Wilson,
1984). The author hypothesized that humans are predisposed to a love of living things and
he teaches that physical, emotional, and physiological benefits accrue to individuals who
have an appreciation for and connection to nature. Furthermore, a related hypothesis
proposes that green space in urban areas can have significant effects on the mental well-
being of people who live near it (Fuller et al., 2007).

In the field of city and regional planning, it is common for policy makers to regard green
space as a luxury good, underestimating the hidden potential for green space to positively
affect urban residents (Groenewegen et al., 2006). A meta-study conducted in 2010
concluded there is a lack of concrete evidence associating mental health and green space
despite a number of previously published studies (Lee and Maheswaran, 2010). The
researchers reviewed studies published after 1990 with a specific focus on green or public
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open spaces as they relate to human health. This was done in an attempt to develop a
“narrative summary for health policy-makers and urban planners” (Lee and Maheswaran,
2010: 212). This meta-study found a range of results such as strong support for the claim
that green space offers increased opportunity for exercise, which in turn improves
residents’ physical health. As for the connection between mental health and green space,
these studies tend to rely on qualitative reports rather than quantitative studies. Positive
correlations between green space and social capital, sense of safety, and reduced stress
were presented and discussed. These correlations were found to be generally consistent
across the reviewed studies despite different locations and measurement tools used by
researchers.

Green space has been found both to reduce stress and anxiety associated with negative
mental health and also to add positive mental benefits to those who interact with it (Van
Den Berg et al., 2010). Studies have shown that nearness and interaction with green space
can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve recovery from mental fatigue
(Pearson and Craig, 2014). Researchers who looked at individuals moving to greener and
less green urban areas found that “sustained mental health improvements” (Van Den Berg
et al., 2010: 1247) were associated with individuals who moved to urban areas that were
greener than their previous neighborhoods (Alcock, 2014). A study of Dutch residents
found that the presence of green space in communities can mitigate both the physical and
mental negative effects that stressful life events have on individuals (Van Den Berg et al.,
2010). Exercise done in green space has been found to result in higher ratings of mental
well-being than similar activity conducted in an indoor environment (Coon et al., 2011).
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While some relationships between MWB and green space have been found, the meta-study
discussed earlier confirms that current evidence and conclusions in this area of research
are still weak at best (White et al., 2013; Lee and Maheswaran, 2010).

In recent years, another, lesser-known type of space called “blue space” is capturing the
attention of researchers who believe that it may have benefits similar to that of green
space. One study looked at how the health of English residents related to their residential
proximity to water. The researchers found that as distance to the coast decreased, overall
health increased (Smedley, 2013). Results from this study indicated that other water
features also positively affect health. A plausible explanations for this relationship focuses
on the fact that humans “evolved in intimate contact with nature, and it is only really in the
last 200 years that people have been increasingly removed from nature “ (2013). Humans
may have an innate desire to be near water: “There is something deeply profound about
water and humans, and it may reflect evolutionary history", marine biologist Alister Hardy
has said (2013). Human attraction to water may relate back to and be an extension of the
biophilia hypothesis (Wilson, 1984).

Further, Karmanov and Hamel (2008) found that blue space in urban and natural contexts
is associated with multiple positive effects including mood enhancement, stress reduction,
and expansion of mental attention. The range of recreational, restorative and spiritual
benefits of blue space have been documented on an individual and personal level (Völker
and Kistemann, 2011). In a study published in 2010 participants were shown a range of
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120 photos with a mix of green, blue, and built space and their reactions to the images were
recorded. The researchers found that blue space in natural and built environments
produced more positive subjective reactions from individuals than similar areas without
water features (White et al., 2010).

Volker and Kistemann (2011) looked at literature relevant to blue space and well-being,
ultimately including 36 studies published after 1981. Across the studies, views of
landscapes containing water were consistently reported as “positive, attractive, and
fascinating” with the existence of water features being “a strong predictor of preference for
landscapes in general”. This preference exists due to blue space’s potential to offer
refreshing, calming and energizing effects (Volker and Kistemann, 2011; White et al., 2010).
The review also points out fascinating spiritual and emotional reactions by individuals in
response to the presence of water in their landscapes. Studies also exist that quantitatively
support the notion that humans prefer environments with water such as a 2000 study that
used a hedonic model to show that house prices near water tend to be higher than those
not near water (Luttik, 2000). As a relatively new field of inquiry, blue space may have
intuitive and encouraging benefits for all but there is a noticeable lack of research
addressing the effect of water on urban dwellers (Luttik, 2000).

Walkability of a neighborhood, in addition to green and blue space, may also affect the
MWB of its residents. Walkability refers to the ways in which the built environment enables
pedestrian activities. In the past decade, walkability has received increased attention in
regards to its relationship to human health. Andrews et al. (2012) note “an initial scan of
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the literature published in Social Science & Medicine and its sister journal Health & Place
found more than forty papers that focus exclusively on walkability”. A number of these
studies looked at the connection between mental health and walkable areas and found that
pedestrian activities, facilitated by improved walkability of neighborhoods, provide means
for residents to experience a range of positive emotions, including higher self-confidence
and other therapeutic, spiritual and escapeful feelings.

Like blue space, research into the benefits of walkable neighborhoods is an emerging field
that still has limited conclusions but has experienced immense growth in recent years
(Florida, 2011). Cities and neighborhoods with high levels of walkability have been shown
to foster high levels of social capital and contribute to physically healthy and more
emotionally relaxed residents (Abraham et al., 2009).

In one study, researchers found specific benefits of exercise for people 65 and older
including better quality sleep, delayed onset of many diseases, improved perception of life
condition, and positive effects on cognition (Sugiyama and Thompson, 2007). In addition to
encouraging more physical activity, walkable areas have also been associated with higher
levels of civic engagement and social capital, better cognitive health of residents, and crime
reduction in communities (Florida, 2014).

Scales that assess and measure the walkability of an area may take into account a wide
range of factors to generate a true measurement of the walkability of a specific address or
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general area. Common techniques used to evaluate walkability are presented in the
discussion.

Though there are a number of studies exploring the positive mental benefits associated
with high levels of a neighborhood’s green space, blue space, and walkability, much of this
research has been conducted in European countries. Studies focused on the urban Midwest
are far less common (Karmanov and Hamel, 2008; Lee and Maheswaran, 2010; Abraham et
al., 2009). As such, this study looks at MWB scores and built environment characteristics to
explore if and how these hypothesized relationships are present in neighborhoods of
Columbus.

Methods

The process of collecting data for this study can be split into three parts. Collecting
information regarding the dependent variable, the independent variables and the control
variables was done in separate ways.

I. Dependent variable: Mental Well-Being

Data for the dependent variable of this study, the multi-dimensional measure of mental
well-being, was collected during Fall 2015 and January 2016. The data comes from a survey
designed for a broader study exploring the relationship between consumption,
environmental impacts, and well-being.
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