Urban Nature Parks & Individual Health

Abstract

The contribution that urban nature parks can make to city dwellers’ personal health is significant in light of three current trends. First, more Americans live in cities today than ever before. Second, participation in outdoor recreation has been decreasing. Third, Americans are increasingly spending leisure time in sedentary pursuits, resulting in high rates of obesity and related health complications. We surveyed 184 residents of Portland, Oregon using a mail and web-based questionnaire. Two hypotheses were tested. H1: There will be a positive association between use of Portland’s nature parks and self-reported physical health. H2: There will be a positive association between use of Portland’s nature parks and self-reported emotional/psychological health. We found a positive relationship between park use and one of our physical health measures. H2 was not supported. Though not generalizable, our results support prior research suggesting a connection between urban green space and physical and emotional/psychological health among city dwellers.