posted on 2021-06-22, 18:33authored byAnna C. O’Regan, Ruth F. Hunter, Marguerite M. Nyhan
According to the
biophilia hypothesis, humans have evolved to prefer
natural environments that are essential to their thriving. With urbanization
occurring at an unprecedented rate globally, urban greenspace has
gained increased attention due to its environmental, health, and socioeconomic
benefits. To unlock its full potential, an increased understanding
of greenspace metrics is urgently required. In this first-of-a-kind
study, we quantified street-level greenspace using 751 644
Google Street View images and computer vision methods for 125 274
locations in Ireland’s major cities. We quantified population-weighted
exposure to greenspace and investigated the impact of greenspace on
health and socioeconomic determinants. To investigate the association
between greenspace and self-reported health, a negative binomial regression
analysis was applied. While controlling for other factors, an interquartile
range increase in street-level greenspace was associated with a 2.78%
increase in self-reported “good or very good” health
[95% confidence interval: 2.25–3.31]. Additionally, we observed
that populations in upper quartiles of greenspace exposure had higher
levels of income and education than those in lower quartiles. This
study provides groundbreaking insights into how urban greenspace can
be quantified in unprecedented resolution, accuracy, and scale while
also having important implications for urban planning and environmental
health research and policy.