Vínculos y potencial restaurador de los espacios urbanos.

321 p.La restauración psicológica es un proceso que permite recuperarse de la fatiga atencional y el cansancio emocional derivados del desempeño cotidiano al entrar en contacto con espacios que poseen determinadas cualidades. Durante décadas la Psicología Ambiental ha prestado poca atención a los espacios urbanos construidos debido a la asunción general de que estos tienen un menor potencial restaurador y que incluso son generadores de estrés y malestar. Esta tesis ha estudiado el potencial restaurador de espacios urbanos y recoge una revisión sistemática (capítulo 1), cuatro estudios experimentales (capítulos 2, 3, 4 y 6) y dos estudios de encuesta (capítulos 5 y 7). En su conjunto, han revelado que el uso de espacios urbanos construidos, en este caso plazas, puede otorgar experiencias de restauración en términos cognitivos y afectivos y por tanto invitan a continuar con esta línea de investigación. Asimismo, este trabajo ha permitido valorar el papel del apego y la identificación con el espacio en la obtención de beneficios restauradores y adelantar algunos de los interrogantes que la investigación en esta área habrá de afrontar en el futuro

Restorative urban environments for healthy cities: a theoretical model for the study of restorative experiences in urban built settings

Urban landscapes are becoming the main ecosystem for human life. Given that urban living can be associated with poor psychological health, one specific challenge faced by cities is related to psychological well-being. The current essay discusses how restorative environments research can offer significant insights into the strategy of healthy cities by guiding the exploration of their restorative outcomes. We propose a theoretical model elucidating the physical and symbolic features of urban settings that can aid processes of active and passive restoration-based on theory and evidence from restorative environments research. Future research should consider urban psychological restoration in a broader sense and lend greater relevance to the exploration of the restorative potential of the full range of urban built settings

Still not that bad for the grey city : A field study on the restorative effects of built open urban places

Attention Restoration Theory (ART) and Stress Recovery Theory (SRT) highlight the restorative properties of natural or green environments. However, the study of the psychological benefits obtained through contact with built open urban places, such as squares or streets, has received far less attention. In this paper we present a within-subjects pretest-posttest quasi-experimental field study that assessed the restoration experience of a sample of university students (N = 34) visiting two squares in a European city. Statistical analyses revealed that participants' attentional performance improved and negative affect (depression and stress) decreased after spending 20 min in the squares. There was no increase in positive affect. Nature orientedness was significantly related to some of the pretest-posttest changes, leading to lower fatigue and attentional restoration in one square. The results suggest that built open urban settings can provide some restorative benefits.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Perceived Environmental Aesthetic Qualities Scale (PEAQS) : A self-report tool for the evaluation of green-blue spaces

Aesthetic qualifies of urban green and blue spaces have received considerable attention in scientific literature but are operationalized in multiple ways and lack clear assessment and measurement techniques. To fill in this gap, we developed a Perceived Environmental Aesthetic Qualifies Scale (PEAQS). Based on previous literature both in philosophy and empirical sciences we created a questionnaire with 36 statements and three open questions focusing on the perceived aesthetic qualifies of environments. This questionnaire was used to sample 331 respondents in three sites different in their level of naturalness, human intervention and design: a natural-like but managed urban forest, a partly human-made and intensively managed bay-park and a completely human-made green roof. These sites were selected to represent a variety of urban green and blue infrastructure common in cities. The results suggest a scale that consists of 23 statements and five factors that reflect perceived aesthetic qualifies of urban green spaces: Harmony, Mystery, Multisensority & Nature, Visual Spaciousness and Visual Diversity, and Sublimity. We give guidelines for further development and testing of the scale in order to prove its potential to develop the field of environmental aesthetics and to demonstrate its usefulness for adaptive, evidence-based urban planning and design.Peer reviewe

Exploring relationships between exposure to fast food outlets and childhood obesity at differing spatial resolutions: results from the Born in Bradford cohort study

Background: Exposure to fast-food outlets (FFOs) is thought to relate to childhood obesity, but evidence is mixed and might be explained by imprecision in exposure measurement. We explored the effect of these differences by using novel geospatial analysis methods to study obesity rates of children living in a multi-ethnic, deprived location in the north of England. / Methods: We included 6260 children enrolled in the Born in Bradford cohort study who had participated in the most recent follow-up (2017–20), aged 6–12 years, and had BMI measurements (n=6260), body fat percentage (BFP; n=5004), and geolocation data for their home address. Informed consent was obtained from parents, and assent from children. Secondary points of interest data were used to classify and geolocate FFOs. We calculated proximity to FFOs using four contrasting methods including street network distance incorporating distance decay. We used linear regressions controlling for socioeconomic characteristics, including sex, age, ethnicity, mother's physical health, and perceived financial difficulties, with area-level deprivation; and built environment characteristics as controls. Complete data were available for 2883 children with BMI measurements and 2013 with BFP. / Findings: We introduced improved spatial precision in the quantification of exposure to FFOs, but this improvement did not lead to substantial differences in associations with BMI, or BFP, when comparing unadjusted associations of BFP and postcode buffers (correlation coefficient 0·08 [95% CI 0·05–0·11]) to BFP and address-based street network distance measurements (0·11 [90% CI 0·07–0·15]). After adjusting for confounders, exposure to FFOs close to home was not associated with an increase in BMI or BFP. Higher BMI was associated with increased maternal BMI (correlation coefficient 0·19 [95% CI 0·17–0·21]) and female sex (0·46 [0·22–0·70]); and comparable associations were observed for higher BFP, with an increased maternal BMI (correlation coefficient 0·40 [95% CI 0·34–0·46]), Pakistani ethnicity (2·89 [1·98–3·80]; reference white British), and female sex (2·90 [2·24–3·57]). / Interpretation: We found no association between proximity to FFOs and obesity in children. Maternal predisposition and behavioural and sociocultural factors have a more important role in the development of childhood obesity. More research is required into the effectiveness of policies that ban FFOs

IKD GAZTE: Autogestión, multidisciplinariedad y proyectos colaborativos para la adquisición del sentido de la iniciativa

El proyecto IKD GAZtE tiene como propósito fundamental promover el empoderamiento del estudiantado en el proceso de implantación de metodologías de aprendizaje activo en UPV/EHU (modelo propio de desarrollo curricular IKD). Durante el curso 2012/2013 se diseñó y aplicó de forma piloto un módulo autogestionado por el alumnado para el aprendizaje de competencias vinculadas con el Sentido de la Iniciativa. El alumnado participante, proveniente de diferentes facultades y escuelas de UPV/EHU, realizó proyectos multidisciplinares que dieron lugar a servicios de carácter social. Gracias a esta experiencia los/as alumnos/as participantes adquirieron experiencia en la realización de proyectos con aplicación real y se observó en ellos se observó un aumento en la iniciativa y la proactividad.The IKD GAZTE project's main purpose is to promote the empowerment of students by implementing active-learning-methodologies in UPV / EHU. Completely managed by students, a module, based on the development of learning skills related to Sense of Initiative, has been designed and pilot implemented. In this module, students from UPV/EHU’s different faculties and schools carried out multidisciplinary projects that turned to be social services. They acquired experience in making real projects and lived a meaningful learning experience. Finally, we noticed an increase in the initiative and proactivity of the students

Waste-to-energy risk perception typology: health, politics and environmental impacts

Where strategies to reduce and recycle urban solid waste are insufficient, waste incineration is proposed as second-best management. Waste-to-energy facilities often raise remarkable public controversy, which the Not-In-My-Backyard effect does not explain sufficiently. Heterogeneous concerns lead to diverse risk perception profiles that standard psychometric scales cannot uncover. We explore this diversity of profiles by analyzing risk perceptions about a recently built waste-to-energy facility in Gipuzkoa (Spain), a case underlined by a decades-long public debate about waste management alternatives. Using Q, a semi-qualitative method, we identify risk perceptions within a diverse sample of fifty participants, including residents at different distances to the facility. We identify three main types of risk perception based on the relative importance respondents gave to 26 possible perceived risks of the facility. We define risk perception types according to the concerns that respondents with similar views emphasized most: human health, politics and institutions, and local social-ecological impacts. Whereas human-health and social-ecological concerns could be partially addressed with information—including timely and accessible reporting of effluent monitoring—and improved safety, building institutional trust to mitigate the concerns in the second risk perception type requires longer-term dynamics. Understanding heterogeneous risk profiles as done in this study can support adequate communication strategies and help policymakers prioritize governance areas to improve. Our results contribute to understanding social-environmental risk perceptions associated with controversial facilities. Using an approach that is new in this domain, these results add nuanced understanding that complements the quantitative profiling prevalent in the literature on risk perceptions and about waste-to-energy plants

Exploring psychological restoration in favorite indoor and outdoor urban places using a top-down perspective

Most studies on psychological restoration and favorite places have addressed restoration in green or blue outdoor settings whereas the interest around built and indoor settings has been scarce. In this study, we analyzed restorative experiences in favorite indoor and outdoor urban places using a top-down approach by including psycho-environmental variables (nature and urban orientedness, place bonding) and personality traits (Big Five). A sample of 945 university students and staff recruited in 5 western countries (Finland, Spain, The Netherlands, UK and Australia) answered an online questionnaire. In the linear regression models, perceived restorative potential, place attachment and place identification were the strongest predictors of subjective restoration. Personality traits did not play a significant role in restorative experiences. This work extends restoration research by considering the role of indoor, as well as outdoor environments and highlights the role of certain top-down characteristics in restorative experiences.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Social inequalities, green and blue spaces and mental health in 6–12 years old children participating in the INMA cohort

Availability of green and blue spaces in the area of residence has been related to various health outcomes during childhood, including mental health. These environmental exposures are not evenly distributed among socioeconomic groups, which may increase social inequalities in mental health. The mechanisms through which natural environments may promote mental health are numerous and diverse. This study aimed to explore 1) the potential associations of socioeconomic variables (SES and maternal education attainment) with mental health scores and residential greenness, blueness and NO2 metrics, and, 2) the association between greenness and blueness metrics and mental health scores of children in the Spanish INfancia y Medio Ambiente (INMA) birth cohort at two different time points. The study samples were composed of 1738 six-to eight-year-olds (49% female) and 1449 ten-to twelve-year-olds (living in Asturias, Gipuzkoa, Sabadell and Valencia, Spain. Individual Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values in 100-, 300- and 500-m buffers and availability of green and blue spaces &gt;5000 m2 in 300-m buffers were calculated using Geographic Information Systems software. Residential NO2 values were estimated using land use regression models. Internalizing, externalizing and total problems scores were obtained with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Linear and logistic mixed-effects models revealed unequal distribution of environmental exposures by SES and maternal education but did not show statistically significant associations between greenness and blueness metrics and mental health indicators. The protective effect of green and blue spaces on children's mental health could not be confirmed in this study and therefore further research is required.</p

Residential green and blue spaces and working memory in children aged 6–12 years old. Results from the INMA cohort

Availability of green and blue spaces in the area of residence has been related to various health outcomes during childhood, including neurodevelopment. Some studies have shown that children living in greener and/or bluer areas score better on cognitive tasks although the evidence is inconsistent. These protective effects are hypothesized to occur in part through reductions in air pollution exposure and odds of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study analysed the effects of residential green and blue spaces on working memory of children in the Spanish INfancia y Medio Ambiente (INMA) birth cohort and the potential joint mediating role of air pollution and ADHD. The study samples were composed of 1738 six-to eight-year-olds (M = 7.53, SD = 0.68, 49% female) and 1449 ten-to twelve-year-olds (M = 11.18, SD = 0.69, 50% female) living in Asturias, Gipuzkoa, Sabadell or Valencia, Spain. Individual Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values in 100-, 300- and 500-m buffers and availability of green and blue spaces &gt;5000 m2 in 300-m buffers were calculated using Geographic Information Systems software. Individual NO2 values for the home environment were estimated using ESCAPE's land use regression models. ADHD diagnosis was reported by participants' parents via a questionnaire. Working memory was measured with numbers and colours (in the younger group only) N-back tests (2- and 3-back d’). Mixed-effects models informed of the beneficial effects of NDVI in a 300-m buffer on numerical working memory in the younger sample although the results were not consistent for all d’ scores considered and failed to detect significant effects through the candidate mediators. Availability of major blue spaces did not predict working memory performance. Provision of green spaces may play a role in children's working memory but further research is required.</p