AN EXAMINATION OF THE URBAN GREEN SPACES USAGE BEHAVIOURS AND THE SELF-PERCEIVED HEALTH BENEFITS OF VISITS TO UGS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The burden of chronic mental and physical health challenges has increased in Pakistan. In addition, the proportion of the urban population has been tremendously rising, and urban lives are adversely affecting the city dwellers both physically and mentally. The human, social, and economic costs of these health challenges are being widely felt across the country. This demands developing and promoting approaches that can help prevent or (otherwise) manage health challenges in high-impact, cost-effective and sustainable ways. In this context, the role of exposure to Urban Green Spaces (UGS) is relevant as these spaces are increasingly being promoted as high-impact and inexpensive health promotion tools for urban dwellers today. However, most of the research in this respect has been conducted in developed countries, limiting its generalizability. Given this, the present study evaluated the effects of UGS usage behaviours (frequency of visits per week, duration of UGS usage per week, the intensity of activity performed during the visits) on the users’ “self-perceived mental and physical health benefits” derived from visiting UGS by collecting data from 384 UGS users in a green urban neighbourhood in Rawalpindi, Pakistan through survey method. The findings reveal that most users believed that their visits to green spaces have at least some positive effects on the different parameters of their mental and physical health. Moreover, the study concludes that the maximum exploitation of benefits requires the urban dwellers in general and the UGS users in particular to increase their level of UGS usage and the intensity of activity performed while in green spaces. Additionally, the study's findings are particularly encouraging with regard to the fact that the “self-perceived mental and physical health benefits” derived from visiting green spaces do not differ significantly across the majority of the socio-demographic variables. However, socio-demographic variations in UGS usage behaviours are found, suggesting that interventions to promote contact with UGS and physical activity levels should mainly target some sub-population groups more than others.