The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of and attitudes towards urban forests and green spaces: Exploring the instigators of change in Belgium

Nicola Da Schio; Amy Phillips; Koos Fransen; Manuel Wolff; Dagmar Haase; Silvija  Krajter Ostoić; Ivana Živojinović; Dijana Vuletić; Jakob Derks; Clive Davies; Raffaele Lafortezza; Dennis Roitsch; Georg Winkel; Rik De Vreese

doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127305

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of and attitudes towards urban forests and green spaces: Exploring the instigators of change in Belgium

Nicola Da Schio, Amy Phillips, Koos Fransen, Manuel Wolff, Dagmar Haase, Silvija Krajter Ostoić, Ivana Živojinović, Dijana Vuletić, Jakob Derks, Clive Davies, Raffaele Lafortezza, Dennis Roitsch, Georg Winkel, Rik De Vreese

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

94 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted our society, producing drastic changes in people’s routines and daily mobility, and putting public spaces under a new light. This paper starts with the premise that the use of urban forests and green spaces - where and for who they were available and accessible - increased, when social restrictions were most stringent. It takes an explorative approach to examine changes in attitude towards urban forests and urban green spaces in terms of attraction (i.e., as the actual use behaviour), intended use (i.e., intention of going to green spaces), and civic engagement in relation to green spaces. In particular, it analyses the responses to a survey of 1987 respondents in Belgium and statistically examines the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics, urbanisation characteristics, actual and intended green space use, and changes in attitudes towards green spaces and civic engagement. The findings show that highly educated citizens experienced an increase in actual and intended use of green spaces during the pandemic, but that this increase differs among sociodemographic profiles such as impact of age or access to private green, and depends on their local built environment characteristics. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted citizens’ attitudes, as well as (intended) behaviour and civil engagement with respect to the green spaces in their area.

Original language	English
Article number	127305
Journal	Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
Volume	65
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127305
Publication status	Published - Nov 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We would like to thank Yole DeBellis and Christiane Düring for editorial support and background research. This research was done in the frame of the CLEARING HOUSE project, which has received funding from the European H2020 Research and Innovation programme under the Grant Agreement n° 821242. Several Chinese CLEARING HOUSE partners have also contributed to the funding. The content of this document reflects only the author's view. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

Funding Information:
We would like to thank Yole DeBellis and Christiane Düring for editorial support and background research. This research was done in the frame of the CLEARING HOUSE project, which has received funding from the European H2020 Research and Innovation programme under the Grant Agreement n° 821242 . Several Chinese CLEARING HOUSE partners have also contributed to the funding. The content of this document reflects only the author’s view. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier GmbH

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Access to Document

10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127305

Cite this

Da Schio, N., Phillips, A., Fransen, K., Wolff, M., Haase, D., Krajter Ostoić, S., Živojinović, I., Vuletić, D., Derks, J., Davies, C., Lafortezza, R., Roitsch, D., Winkel, G., & De Vreese, R. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of and attitudes towards urban forests and green spaces: Exploring the instigators of change in Belgium. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 65, Article 127305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127305

@article{d4d2715e9c37499683adca9aa9ef47ed,

title = "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of and attitudes towards urban forests and green spaces: Exploring the instigators of change in Belgium",

abstract = "The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted our society, producing drastic changes in people{\textquoteright}s routines and daily mobility, and putting public spaces under a new light. This paper starts with the premise that the use of urban forests and green spaces - where and for who they were available and accessible - increased, when social restrictions were most stringent. It takes an explorative approach to examine changes in attitude towards urban forests and urban green spaces in terms of attraction (i.e., as the actual use behaviour), intended use (i.e., intention of going to green spaces), and civic engagement in relation to green spaces. In particular, it analyses the responses to a survey of 1987 respondents in Belgium and statistically examines the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics, urbanisation characteristics, actual and intended green space use, and changes in attitudes towards green spaces and civic engagement. The findings show that highly educated citizens experienced an increase in actual and intended use of green spaces during the pandemic, but that this increase differs among sociodemographic profiles such as impact of age or access to private green, and depends on their local built environment characteristics. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted citizens{\textquoteright} attitudes, as well as (intended) behaviour and civil engagement with respect to the green spaces in their area. ",

author = "{Da Schio}, Nicola and Amy Phillips and Koos Fransen and Manuel Wolff and Dagmar Haase and {Krajter Ostoi{\'c}}, Silvija and Ivana {\v Z}ivojinovi{\'c} and Dijana Vuleti{\'c} and Jakob Derks and Clive Davies and Raffaele Lafortezza and Dennis Roitsch and Georg Winkel and {De Vreese}, Rik",

note = "Funding Information: We would like to thank Yole DeBellis and Christiane D{\"u}ring for editorial support and background research. This research was done in the frame of the CLEARING HOUSE project, which has received funding from the European H2020 Research and Innovation programme under the Grant Agreement n° 821242. Several Chinese CLEARING HOUSE partners have also contributed to the funding. The content of this document reflects only the author's view. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. Funding Information: We would like to thank Yole DeBellis and Christiane D{\"u}ring for editorial support and background research. This research was done in the frame of the CLEARING HOUSE project, which has received funding from the European H2020 Research and Innovation programme under the Grant Agreement n° 821242 . Several Chinese CLEARING HOUSE partners have also contributed to the funding. The content of this document reflects only the author{\textquoteright}s view. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Elsevier GmbH Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2021",

month = nov,

doi = "10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127305",

language = "English",

volume = "65",

journal = "Urban Forestry & Urban Greening",

issn = "1618-8667",

publisher = "Urban und Fischer Verlag GmbH und Co. KG",

}

Da Schio, N , Phillips, A , Fransen, K, Wolff, M, Haase, D, Krajter Ostoić, S, Živojinović, I, Vuletić, D, Derks, J, Davies, C, Lafortezza, R, Roitsch, D, Winkel, G & De Vreese, R 2021, 'The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of and attitudes towards urban forests and green spaces: Exploring the instigators of change in Belgium', Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, vol. 65, 127305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127305

TY - JOUR

T1 - The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of and attitudes towards urban forests and green spaces: Exploring the instigators of change in Belgium

AU - Da Schio, Nicola

AU - Phillips, Amy

AU - Fransen, Koos

AU - Wolff, Manuel

AU - Haase, Dagmar

AU - Krajter Ostoić, Silvija

AU - Živojinović, Ivana

AU - Vuletić, Dijana

AU - Derks, Jakob

AU - Davies, Clive

AU - Lafortezza, Raffaele

AU - Roitsch, Dennis

AU - Winkel, Georg

AU - De Vreese, Rik

N1 - Funding Information: We would like to thank Yole DeBellis and Christiane Düring for editorial support and background research. This research was done in the frame of the CLEARING HOUSE project, which has received funding from the European H2020 Research and Innovation programme under the Grant Agreement n° 821242. Several Chinese CLEARING HOUSE partners have also contributed to the funding. The content of this document reflects only the author's view. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. Funding Information: We would like to thank Yole DeBellis and Christiane Düring for editorial support and background research. This research was done in the frame of the CLEARING HOUSE project, which has received funding from the European H2020 Research and Innovation programme under the Grant Agreement n° 821242 . Several Chinese CLEARING HOUSE partners have also contributed to the funding. The content of this document reflects only the author’s view. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier GmbH Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/11

Y1 - 2021/11

N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted our society, producing drastic changes in people’s routines and daily mobility, and putting public spaces under a new light. This paper starts with the premise that the use of urban forests and green spaces - where and for who they were available and accessible - increased, when social restrictions were most stringent. It takes an explorative approach to examine changes in attitude towards urban forests and urban green spaces in terms of attraction (i.e., as the actual use behaviour), intended use (i.e., intention of going to green spaces), and civic engagement in relation to green spaces. In particular, it analyses the responses to a survey of 1987 respondents in Belgium and statistically examines the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics, urbanisation characteristics, actual and intended green space use, and changes in attitudes towards green spaces and civic engagement. The findings show that highly educated citizens experienced an increase in actual and intended use of green spaces during the pandemic, but that this increase differs among sociodemographic profiles such as impact of age or access to private green, and depends on their local built environment characteristics. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted citizens’ attitudes, as well as (intended) behaviour and civil engagement with respect to the green spaces in their area.

AB - The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted our society, producing drastic changes in people’s routines and daily mobility, and putting public spaces under a new light. This paper starts with the premise that the use of urban forests and green spaces - where and for who they were available and accessible - increased, when social restrictions were most stringent. It takes an explorative approach to examine changes in attitude towards urban forests and urban green spaces in terms of attraction (i.e., as the actual use behaviour), intended use (i.e., intention of going to green spaces), and civic engagement in relation to green spaces. In particular, it analyses the responses to a survey of 1987 respondents in Belgium and statistically examines the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics, urbanisation characteristics, actual and intended green space use, and changes in attitudes towards green spaces and civic engagement. The findings show that highly educated citizens experienced an increase in actual and intended use of green spaces during the pandemic, but that this increase differs among sociodemographic profiles such as impact of age or access to private green, and depends on their local built environment characteristics. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted citizens’ attitudes, as well as (intended) behaviour and civil engagement with respect to the green spaces in their area.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85113364105&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127305

DO - 10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127305

M3 - Article

C2 - 35719740

SN - 1618-8667

VL - 65

JO - Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

JF - Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

M1 - 127305

ER -

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of and attitudes towards urban forests and green spaces: Exploring the instigators of change in Belgium

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this