Immigrants and public open spaces : attitudes, preferences and uses

Migration is becoming a major political and social issue in a global context. However, while immigrants’ integration into the hosting society and cities has sparked research investigations, there have been few studies focusing on how their presence affects the urban fabric, especially their use of public open spaces and even less is known about how, and in what way, such spaces have an impact on the immigrants themselves. The scope of this research is to gain a better understanding of how immigrants use, perceive and experience public open spaces. The research focuses on the case study of public open spaces in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. The thesis centres on the experience of first generation immigrants from the three largest immigrant communities living in Portugal, namely, from Brazil, Cape Verde and Ukraine. These immigrants not only represent different waves of migration but also communities from very different geographic origins and socio-cultural backgrounds. David Canter’s ‘Theory of Place’ (Canter, 1977) is used as the theoretical framework for the study, whereby place is understood to be the locus for the juxtaposition of activities that people engage in, their perceptions of it and the physical attributes of space. The key research aim is to explore immigrants’ attitudes, preferences, perceptions, uses and ‘place attachment’ in relation to public open spaces in Lisbon. A mixed-method approach is used to gather information from these three immigrant communities and to establish the relationship between them and public open spaces in the host country. The qualitative methods comprise focus-group discussions and ‘go-along’ interviews, while the quantitative methods include questionnaires. The key findings from the analysis of the cross-cultural experiences show that ‘frequency of use’ is likely to be affected by immigrants’ national and cultural identity. The analysis also reveals the particular meaning that ‘being close to water’ has for the three immigrant groups, especially in terms of its connection with the sea and going to the beach, as well as the importance to them of music being played outdoors and their need for more places to have barbecues. The findings also highlight the importance of public open spaces to immigrants’ lives, particularly in terms of how they evoke different memories (childhood and adult) and how some immigrants have already developed memories in relation to certain places and features in Lisbon. ‘Place attachment’, thus, is shown to serve as an anchor for people and it creates links between the homeland and host country, giving a sense of continuity to immigrants’ lives

Designing an outdoor learning environment for and with a primary school community: A case study in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, school grounds are usually barren areas devoid of any designed features. This study explored children’s, teachers’ and parents’ views of what would constitute an effective school ground for learning, socialising and playing at primary schools in rural Bangladesh. Working within the theory of behaviour settings to design school grounds, several methods were applied: focus groups with children, teachers and parents, a drawing session with children and a child-led/teacher supported model-making workshop. The results suggest that children want to connect with nature, to explore their environment, to challenge themselves, to be physically active and to socialise with friends. They also wanted their school ground to be more attractive. The parents highly valued gardening whereas teachers preferred an area with loose materials where the children could learn by themselves. None of these ideas were mutually exclusive and the subsequent design was able to incorporate elements from all groups

Migration and Land Use Change in Europe: A Review

Migration within Europe and between Europe and other parts of the world is a major driver of population change and has far reaching effects on land use. The theory, historical trends and actual patterns of migration were reviewed and from these an understanding of different categories of migration was developed. The pressures for land use change caused by different types of migration were developed and interpreted into a map of Europe, resolved at NUTSx level and a set of descriptions of land use change projections, examples of which are presented. The paper suggests that the implications of migration on land use change need further research and better data in order to be able to be more certain of trends. In the modern world migration will continue to be a major influence on land use and European policies which consider migration and land use as separate issues are likely to miss important connections

Enhancing Health Through Access to Nature: How Effective are Interventions in Woodlands in Deprived Urban Communities? A Quasi-experimental Study in Scotland, UK.

High prevalence of poor mental health is a major public health problem. Natural environments may contribute to mitigating stress and enhancing health. However, there is little evidence on whether community-level interventions intended to increase exposure to natural environments can improve mental health and related behaviours. In the first study of its kind, we evaluated whether the implementation of a programme designed to improve the quality of, and access to, local woodlands in deprived communities in Scotland, UK, was associated with lower perceived stress or other health-related outcomes, using a controlled, repeat cross-sectional design with a nested prospective cohort. Interventions included physical changes to the woodlands and community engagement activities within the woodlands, with data collected at baseline (2013) and post-intervention (2014 and 2015). The interventions were, unexpectedly, associated with increased perceived stress compared to control sites. However, we observed significantly greater increases in stress for those living >500 m from intervention sites. Visits to nearby nature (woods and other green space) increased overall, and moderate physical activity levels also increased. In the intervention communities, those who visited natural environments showed smaller increases in stress than those who did not; there was also some evidence of increased nature connectedness and social cohesion. The intervention costs were modest but there were no significant changes in quality of life on which to base cost-effectiveness. Findings suggest factors not captured in the study may have contributed to the perceived stress patterns found. Wider community engagement and longer post-intervention follow-up may be needed to achieve significant health benefits from woodland interventions such as those described here. The study points to the challenges in evidencing the effectiveness of green space and forestry interventions to enhance health in urban environments, but also to potential benefits from more integrated approaches across health and landscape planning and management practice

Health impacts of environmental and social interventions designed to increase deprived communities' access to urban woodlands: a mixed-methods study

Background: Contact with natural environments can bring health benefits, but research is lacking on how changes in access to natural environments might improve health, especially for deprived populations. Objective: To evaluate the health impacts of woodland environment interventions intended to increase communities’ engagement with these woodlands. Design: A prospective study of Forestry Commission Scotland’s Woods In and Around Towns (WIAT) programme in deprived communities to enhance public access to natural environments. The study investigated the impact that WIAT had on community-level mental health over time. Setting: Three intervention and three control woodland sites, and associated communities within 1.5 km of the woodlands, located in central Scotland and eligible for WIAT support. Participants: A core community survey was administered at each site in three waves, at baseline and after each phase of intervention (n = 5460, panel A). The completed survey contained a nested longitudinal cohort (n = 609, panel B). Community members also undertook 6-monthly environmental audits at all sites (n = 256) and participated in post-intervention focus groups (n = 34). Interventions: Phase 1 involved physical changes to the woodlands, including footpaths, entrances and vegetation. Phase 2 involved community engagement events promoting woodland use. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Other health measures included health-related quality of life (HRQoL) EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D), physical activity (PA) [International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)], connectedness to nature [Inclusion of Nature in Self (INS) scale] and social cohesion. Results: The PSS scores significantly increased in the intervention group and marginally decreased in the control group. Multilevel regression models showed a differential impact between the intervention and the control at survey wave 3 in panel A [B (unstandardised coefficient) 3.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.85 to 4.31; p < 0.001] and in panel B [B 3.03, 95% CI 1.54 to 4.52; p < 0.001]. Using the same analytical approach, no significant change in HRQoL was associated with the intervention. Economic assessment included an illustrative cost–utility analysis and a cost–consequences analysis. The differential in stress between the intervention group and the control group was lower or non-significant in those who visited ‘nature’ in the previous year [panel A, B 1.9, 95% CI 0.8 to 3.0; p < 0.001; panel B, B 0.64, 95% CI –1.60 to 2.88; p = 0.57]. The IPAQ score showed a positive association with the intervention for moderate levels of PA [panel B, B 559.3, 95% CI 211.3 to 907.2; p = 0.002] and overall PA [panel B, B 861.5, 95% CI 106.5 to 1616.4; p = 0.025]. The intervention was also associated with increased nature connectedness and social cohesion by wave 3 – significant for panel A only. Qualitative and quantitative evidence showed that interventions increased the perceived quality of the woodland environment and enhanced its enjoyment for different activities, but the increase in use of natural environments post intervention was only 6% (panel B). Limitations: This study was limited to three intervention sites. External factors may be the primary influence on health outcomes. Conclusions: The WIAT interventions did not improve community-level health within 6 months of completion, and hence there was no basis for demonstrating cost-effectiveness. However, the WIAT interventions are low cost (average £11.80 per person in the eligible population) and have potential for cost-effectiveness, if health benefits were found in the longer term. Future work: Using routinely collected data to consider a whole-programme evaluation is recommended

Can outdoor environment improve children's motivation to learn?

A growing body of research has linked spending time in the outdoors with attention restoration, informal learning and improved physical activity. However, research exploring the potential of the school ground to increase children’s motivation to learn is scarce. The study adapted a quasi-experimental action evaluation strategy to investigate the role of an improved school landscape on children’s motivation to learn, in the context of Bangladesh. A primary school ground in Bangladesh was designed, developed and used as a context and tool for teaching the children content from their formal curriculum, as well as a place for informal play. Statistical analyses of the questionnaire, focus groups with children and interviews with teachers, all conducted before and after the changes to the outdoor environment, revealed a positive relationship between outdoor learning and children’s motivation. Learning in the outdoor environment was positively associated with behavioural and affective domains of children’s motivation, and also improved school attendance. Following further analysis, a set of design guidelines for designing school yards will be developed to benefit policy makers, design professionals, teachers and education officers. Implementation of this research to a wider scale can provide opportunities to gather more evidence for effective design and use of the outdoor environment to impact positively on children’s motivation to learn