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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the importance of urban green spaces to the public

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  • Noszczyk, Tomasz
  • Gorzelany, Julia
  • Kukulska-Kozieł, Anita
  • Hernik, Józef

Abstract

Green spaces provide people with countless intangible benefits, particularly important during crises. Restrictions imposed in many countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to maintain social distance, limit travels, and even refrain from visiting green spaces and stay at home at a certain point. The survey in one of the largest cities in Poland, Kraków, was intended to help understand the impact of the pandemic on the importance of urban green spaces to the public. The study focused on the first three stages of the pandemic in Poland, from March to November 2020. Nine weeks of the survey yielded over 1250 responses. Responses to spatial questions were analysed with GIS tools and geoprocessing algorithms. The number of visitors to green spaces during the pandemic fell to 78.9% of the population, which is down 13.1% compared to before the pandemic. At the same time, the percentage of people refraining from the visits fell with each phase of the crisis. According to the study, residents believed green spaces to be important for their mental and physical health. Over 75% of the participants considered visits to green spaces as having a very big or big impact on stress level reduction. The work provides empirical proof of the importance of green spaces to residents, particularly during a crisis. The results can affect urban spatial policies and management of green spaces and can potentially be applied in other cities.

Suggested Citation

  • Noszczyk, Tomasz & Gorzelany, Julia & Kukulska-Kozieł, Anita & Hernik, Józef, 2022. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the importance of urban green spaces to the public," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:113:y:2022:i:c:s0264837721006487
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105925
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    Cited by:

    1. Dawid Kudas & Agnieszka Wnęk & Lucia Tátošová, 2022. "Land Use Mix in Functional Urban Areas of Selected Central European Countries from 2006 to 2012," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-17, November.
    2. Katarzyna Kocur-Bera, 2022. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Era on Residential Property Features: Pilot Studies in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-19, May.
    3. Ruochen Yang & Kun Liu & Chang Su & Shiro Takeda & Junhua Zhang & Shuhao Liu, 2023. "Quantitative Analysis of Seasonality and the Impact of COVID-19 on Tourists’ Use of Urban Green Space in Okinawa: An ARIMA Modeling Approach Using Web Review Data," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-25, May.
    4. Jinwei Wang & Liyan Zhang & Yue Sun & Guangjuan Lu & Yanbin Chen & Saiyin Zhang, 2022. "Exploring the Impacts of Urban Community Leisure on Subjective Well-Being during COVID-19: A Mixed Methods Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-21, July.
    5. Antonios Kolimenakis & Alexandra D. Solomou & Nikolaos Proutsos & Evangelia V. Avramidou & Evangelia Korakaki & Georgios Karetsos & Aimilia B. Kontogianni & Konstantinos Kontos & Christos Georgiadis &, 2022. "Public Perceptions of the Socioeconomic Importance of Urban Green Areas in the Era of COVID-19: A Case Study of a Nationwide Survey in Greece," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-14, December.

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