AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF GREEN SPACES IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF RESIDENTS UNDER COVID-19

Abstract

As one of the frequently used green spaces of urban residents, residential green spaces have a positive effect on people’s mental health status. In order to understand the impact of residential green spaces on citizens’ mental health during the COVID-19 epidemic, this study collected the sociodemographic data of 556 residents from 15 residential communities in Hefei New Municipal and Culture District, Anhui Province, China in March, 2020 through online questionnaires, then adopted the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10 Scale) to evaluate the residents’ mental health status, and used GIMP Grid to quantify the green view index of residential green spaces outside the windows. Besides, a multiple linear regression model was used to explore the correlations between residential green spaces and residents’ mental health status. The findings show that green coverage ratio, satisfaction of the landscapes of green space, green view index outside the window, and green viewing duration of the residential green spaces have positive effects on residents’ mental health status. The study verifies the benefits of residential green spaces to promoting resident’s mental health status under COVID-19, providing a scientific guidance for the future practice of urban construction.

Keywords

COVID-19 / Residential Green Spaces / Green Spaces Welfare / Mental Health / Green View Index / Green Coverage Ratio / Green Space Satisfaction / Green Viewing Duration / K10 Scale

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2021 Higher Education Press