Green infrastructure influences on the health and wellbeing of older people
To address Aim 3 this Work Package will draw on the first three of the ‘Five Ways to Well-being’ around physical activity; connecting with other people and taking notice of one’s environment. For assessing the impact of green and blue space interventions on physical activity, WP3 will take a natural experiment approach and draw on recent MRC guidance (2011). WP3 will draw on WP2 since there are important connections between levels of physical activity and issues such as feeling unsafe in certain environments which may diminish confidence in the ability to be more physically active. The third ‘way to wellbeing’ is also touched on since WP3 will involve assessment of the value of sensory landscapes using a specific case study with older people living with early onset dementia. Finally, WP3 will consider the potential for negative impacts or disservices as a result of increased participation in green and blue spaces through the assessment of environmental exposures.
Planned outputs:
- Exposure assessments for typologies of older people.
- Evidence base of fine particulate pollutants and associations with urban green and blue space types.
- Evidence-based predictions about what types of environments would be most likely to result in improvements in usage, physical activity or well-being.
- Mapped based representations.
- Toolkit and design guide through which park and other green infrastructure managers can better appreciate the needs of older populations.
ghia.org.uk 