Valuing Blue Spaces for Health and Wellbeing from the Community Perspective

Nafsika Afentou, Louise Jackson, Luiz Flavio Andrade, Stephanie Elliott, Katrina Hull, Jenny Shepherd and Emma Frew ()
Additional contact information
Nafsika Afentou: Health Economics Unit, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Louise Jackson: Health Economics Unit, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Luiz Flavio Andrade: Health Economics Unit, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Stephanie Elliott: Canal & River Trust, Milton Keynes MK9 1BB, UK
Katrina Hull: Canal & River Trust, Milton Keynes MK9 1BB, UK
Jenny Shepherd: Canal & River Trust, Milton Keynes MK9 1BB, UK
Emma Frew: Health Economics Unit, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: Blue spaces, like canals, are central to health policies promoting physical activity (PA), enhancing wellbeing, and addressing inequalities. Alongside the health benefits, they can offer an array of societal, environmental, cultural, and other welfare-enhancing benefits, which shape the overall value of blue spaces for population wellbeing. This study investigated the multifaceted value of canals for promoting physical activity and wider community wellbeing from the perspective of local community members in Birmingham (UK). Two consensus workshops were conducted to identify enablers and barriers to engaging in PA alongside canals. Data were generated using the nominal group technique and analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The community members shared that connecting with nature, enhancing mental health, and socialising were all key facilitators for using canals for PA. Prominent barriers identified were safety concerns, including anti-social behaviour, inadequate lighting, and fear of visiting alone, as well as a lack of accessibility. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of understanding the community perspective when considering the value of blue spaces, and subsequent investment opportunities. By incorporating the community perspective and embedding a notion of ‘ownership’ over these local assets, this will further enhance the sustainability of investment.

Keywords: natural environment; blue space; physical activity; social value; nominal group technique; investment prioritisation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/12/5222/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/12/5222/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:12:p:5222-:d:1418178

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().