Indigenous wellbeing in Australia: Evidence from HILDA

This study explores the subjective wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. We focus on mean levels of self-reported life satisfaction, inequality in life satisfaction within the Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian populations, and the prevalence and severity of dissatisfaction with one’s life. Evidence on differences in the determinants of life satisfaction between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is provided. Results indicate that Indigenous life satisfaction peaked in 2003 and has since declined. We also find that inequality in life satisfaction is greater for Indigenous than non-Indigenous Australians. Despite a downward trend in the level of dissatisfaction for non-Indigenous Australians, dissatisfaction among Indigenous Australians has remained relatively unchanged

The relationship between greenspace and the mental wellbeing of adults: A systematic review

INTRODUCTION: The view that interacting with nature enhances mental wellbeing is commonplace, despite a dearth of evidence or even agreed definitions of 'nature'. The aim of this review was to systematically appraise the evidence for associations between greenspace and mental wellbeing, stratified by the different ways in which greenspace has been conceptualised in quantitative research. METHODS: We undertook a comprehensive database search and thorough screening of articles which included a measure of greenspace and validated mental wellbeing tool, to capture aspects of hedonic and/or eudaimonic wellbeing. Quality and risk of bias in research were assessed to create grades of evidence. We undertook detailed narrative synthesis of the 50 studies which met the review inclusion criteria, as methodological heterogeneity precluded meta-analysis. RESULTS: Results of a quality assessment and narrative synthesis suggest associations between different greenspace characteristics and mental wellbeing. We identified six ways in which greenspace was conceptualised and measured: (i) amount of local-area greenspace; (ii) greenspace type; (iii) visits to greenspace; (iv) views of greenspace; (v) greenspace accessibility; and (vi) self-reported connection to nature. There was adequate evidence for associations between the amount of local-area greenspace and life satisfaction (hedonic wellbeing), but not personal flourishing (eudaimonic wellbeing). Evidence for associations between mental wellbeing and visits to greenspace, accessibility, and types of greenspace was limited. There was inadequate evidence for associations with views of greenspace and connectedness to nature. Several studies reported variation in associations between greenspace and wellbeing by life course stage, gender, levels of physically activity or attitudes to nature. CONCLUSIONS: Greenspace has positive associations with mental wellbeing (particularly hedonic wellbeing), but the evidence is not currently sufficient or specific enough to guide planning decisions. Further studies are needed, based on dynamic measures of greenspace, reflecting access and uses of greenspace, and measures of both eudaimonic and hedonic mental wellbeing

Health status, mental health and air quality: evidence from pensioners in Europe

Environmental quality is an important determinant of individuals’ well-being and one of the main concerns of the governments is the improvement on air quality and the protection of public health. This is especially the case of sensitive demographic groups, such as the old aged people. However, the question this study attempts to answer is how do individuals value the effects on the environment. The study explores the effects of old and early public pension schemes, as well as the impact of air pollution on health status of retired citizens. The empirical analysis relies on detailed micro-level data derived from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). As proxies for health, we use the general health status and the Eurod mental health indicator. We examine two air pollutants: the sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ground-level ozone (O3). Next, we calculate the marginal willingness-to-pay (MWTP) which shows how much the people are willing to pay for improvement in air quality. We apply various quantitative techniques and approaches, including the fixed effects ordinary least squares (OLS) and the fixed effects instrumental variables (IV) approach. The last approach is applied to reduce the endogeneity problem coming from possible reverse causality between the air pollution, pensions and the health outcomes. For robustness check, we apply also a structural equation modelling (SEM) which is proper when the outcomes are latent variables. Based on our favoured IV estimates and the health status, we find that the MWTP values for one unit decrease in SO2 and O3 are respectively €221 and €88 per year. The respective MWTP values using the Eurod measure are €155 and €68. Overall, improvement of health status implies reduction in health expenditures, and in previous literature, ageing has been traditionally considered the most important determinant. However, this study shows that health lifestyle and socio-economic status, such as education and marital status, are more important, and furthermore, air pollution cannot be ignored in the agenda of policy makers

Greenspace, physical activity and wellbeing in Australian capital cities: how does population density moderate the relationship?

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the synergy between greenspace and physical activity and its implications for well-being. In particular, how this synergy may depend on population size in the neighborhood. Study design: Cross-sectional analysis of resident-level responses from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey for 2013 subset to Australia's major capital cities and linked to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data. Methods: GIS data on greenspace and Australian Bureau of Statistics data on population size for the neighborhood are matched to the residents in the HILDA survey on the basis of the Census Collection District in which they reside. A cluster-specific fixed effects model is estimated for the outcomes of mental health and psychological distress. A battery of sociodemographic and location characteristics were also adjusted for. Interaction terms are used to discern the extent to which population size may moderate any synergistic well-being benefits associated with physical activity and greenspace. This question is ultimately operationalized as a three-way interaction effect (greenspace × physical activity × population size). Results: The results indicate that physical activity is most strongly and positively associated with mental health (statistically significant at the 1% level), with an estimated coefficient of 0.6307. The results also reveal that physical activity is negatively associated with psychological distress (statistically significant at the 10% level), with an estimated coefficient of -0.2447. Unexpectedly, for both mental health and psychological distress the greenspace and population variables are not found to have separate statistically significant effects.Furthermore, while the results fail to find, on average, the hypothesized synergy between greenspace and physical activity, a closer inspection reveals that this link may depend on the population size of a neighborhood. The interaction term for greenspace, physical activity and population bears a coefficient estimate of 0.0033, statistically significant at the 5% level in the mental health regression and a coefficient of -0.0032, statistically significant at the 1% level in the psychological distress regression. Conclusion: The results indicate that physical activity is linked differently to mental health and psychological distress. The results initially provide no evidence of the hypothesized greenspace-physical activity synergy. The results provide evidence that this synergy is greater in more populated neighborhoods

Revisiting feed-in tariffs in Australia: a review

Globally, solar photovoltaic (PV) is rapidly becoming a key source of energy, incentivised through the use of feed-in tariffs (FiTs). Solar PV is enjoying a similarly swift adoption in Australia, encouraged through FiTs. This review builds on earlier work, compiling and comparing FiTs in Australia across its states and territories for residential small scale photovoltaic installations. The purpose of this review is three-fold: (1) to synthesise a set of data on FiT policy which can be used to inform future Australia-wide policy analysis; (2) to understand the coevolution of: policies to subsidise solar panel installation; installation costs; and installation numbers; and (3) to employ this set of data on FiT policy to examine whether FiT policy corresponds with unintended adverse energy justice outcomes (i.e. electricity disconnections from the grid). The analysis presented in this review indicates that FiT policies correspond to a greater number of electricity disconnections from the grid. These findings are discussed in the context of broader debates

Cultivating climate justice: Green infrastructure and suburban disadvantage in Australia

Green infrastructure has recently risen to international prominence for its purported capacity to enhance urban sustainability, and particularly to modulate ambient temperatures in the context of climate change. We assess whether residents in a sub-tropical Australian city perceive green infrastructure as an effective climate adaptation response for reducing vulnerability to heat stress. Gold Coast City has pursued urban densification policies, such as reducing block sizes and increasing building heights, to accommodate rapid population growth. Little attention has been given to the combined impact of local heat island effects and global climate change upon lower-income residents in the city's suburban fringe, including rising energy costs associated with cooling homes. The study has three aims: to assess whether social disadvantage is associated with (1) concern about climate change impacts; (2) perceptions about the potential of green infrastructure to offer potential climate-adaptive benefits; and (3) the desire for more urban greening in a working class suburb. We used a mail-back survey to elicit information related to cooling dwellings, awareness of, and concern about, climate change impacts, perceptions of the benefits of green infrastructure, and desire for more urban greening. Results indicate that despite their vulnerability to heat stress, comparatively disadvantaged residents are no more concerned about climate change; nor are they any more inclined to encourage local government to enhance neighbourhood greenery. These residents are, if anything, less likely to perceive benefits of urban greening. Our findings indicate that cultivating support for green infrastructure in disadvantaged neighbourhoods will require parallel efforts to redress inequality

Can green infrastructure cultivate climate justice? Insights from suburban Australia

Conference Theme: Frontiers of Geographical KnowledgeTrack 6 - Frontiers of Australian Environmental Justice Research and ActivismGreen infrastructure has recently risen to national and international prominence for its purported functions, benefits and services for built environments (e.g. reducing stormwater runoff, modulating urban temperatures). Considerable green infrastructure research has examined inner-city locales. In this paper we assess whether residents living in suburban Gold Coast City, Australia perceive green infrastructure as an efficacious climate adaptation strategy. Gold Coast City has pursued urban densification (e.g. reducing block sizes, increasing building heights) to accommodate rapid population growth. But little attention has been given to the combined effects of urban consolidation and climate change on lower-income residents in the suburban fringe, including heat island impacts and rising energy prices associated with cooling homes due to reduced tree canopy cover. We used a survey of residents in Gold Coast city to determine respondents perceptions of the benefits of retrofitting green infrastructure to their neighbourhood and to gauge their level of awareness of, and concern about, climate change impacts. Initial results suggest that more disadvantaged residents appear to have comparatively higher energy expenses, and their concern for climate change and disposition towards urban greening may render them more vulnerable to future impacts. Findings have implications for policy responses and for efforts to create climate-just cities