The Potential Health Benefits of Urban Tree Planting Suggested through Immersive Environments

Christopher Hassall (), Michael Nisbet, Evan Norcliffe and He Wang
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Christopher Hassall: School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Michael Nisbet: School of Computing, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Evan Norcliffe: School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
He Wang: School of Computing, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-12

Abstract: Disruptive change in urban landscapes, such as large-scale tree planting, is complicated by the different priorities of the wide range of urban stakeholders. Here, we demonstrate an approach to the planning of urban green spaces using virtual reality simulations. We evaluate the health benefits (restorative benefits) and safety concerns of participants using virtual reconstructions of 10 urban parks in Bradford, UK, to simulate changes in woodland cover. Participants experienced each of the 10 parks as immersive environments with each of three scenarios: (i) no trees, (ii) real tree distribution, and (iii) doubling of tree numbers. Participants answered a short questionnaire while in each virtual park to quantify their feelings of safety and the restorative benefit that they thought they would experience. The results show that our VR approach produces reported restorative benefits that are not significantly different from those reported in the physical parks during visits by participants. We then demonstrate that increased tree cover is associated with significant increases in perceived restorative benefit, with some evidence of saturation at higher tree densities. Reductions in tree cover lead to a reduction in reported restorative benefit. We suggest that immersive technologies present a useful tool for the consultation and co-design of urban landscapes.

Keywords: virtual reality; biodiversity; tree; urban landscape; attitudes; park; perceptions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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