The Relationship between Nature Deprivation and Individual Wellbeing across Urban Gradients under COVID-19

Linda Powers Tomasso, Jie Yin, Jose Guillermo Cedeño Laurent, Jarvis T. Chen, Paul J. Catalano and John D. Spengler
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Linda Powers Tomasso: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Jie Yin: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Jose Guillermo Cedeño Laurent: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Jarvis T. Chen: Population Health Sciences, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Paul J. Catalano: Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA
John D. Spengler: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-20

Abstract: Lockdown aiming at slowing COVID-19 transmission has altered nature accessibility patterns, creating quasi-experimental conditions to assess if retracted nature contact and perceived nature deprivation influence physical and emotional wellbeing. We measure through on-line survey methods ( n = 529) how pandemic mandates limiting personal movement and outdoor nature access within the United States affect self-assessed nature exposure, perceived nature deprivation, and subsequent flourishing as measured by the Harvard Flourishing Index. Results indicate that perceived nature deprivation strongly associates with local nature contact, time in nature, and access to municipal nature during the pandemic, after controlling for lockdown mandates, job status, household composition, and sociodemographic variables. Our hypothesis is that individuals with strong perceived nature deprivation under COVID-19 leads to diminished wellbeing proved true. Interaction models of flourishing showed positive modification of nature affinity with age and qualitative modification of nature deprivation with race. Our results demonstrate the potential of local nature contact to support individual wellbeing in a background context of emotional distress and social isolation, important in guiding public health policies beyond pandemics.

Keywords: nature exposure; nature deprivation; health disparities; wellbeing; built environment; urban health interventions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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