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Is All Urban Green Space the Same? A Comparison of the Health Benefits of Trees and Grass in New York City

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  • Colleen E. Reid

    (Department of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA)

  • Jane E. Clougherty

    (Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
    Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA)

  • Jessie L.C. Shmool

    (Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA)

  • Laura D. Kubzansky

    (Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA)

Abstract

Living near vegetation, often called “green space” or “greenness”, has been associated with numerous health benefits. We hypothesized that the two key components of urban vegetation, trees and grass, may differentially affect health. We estimated the association between near-residence trees, grass, and total vegetation (from the 2010 High Resolution Land Cover dataset for New York City (NYC)) with self-reported health from a survey of NYC adults (n = 1281). We found higher reporting of “very good” or “excellent” health for respondents with the highest, compared to the lowest, quartiles of tree (RR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.06–1.44) but not grass density (relative risk (RR) = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.86–1.17) within 1000 m buffers, adjusting for pertinent confounders. Significant positive associations between trees and self-reported health remained after adjustment for grass, whereas associations with grass remained non-significant. Adjustment for air pollutants increased beneficial associations between trees and self-reported health; adjustment for parks only partially attenuated these effects. Results were null or negative using a 300 m buffer. Findings imply that higher exposure to vegetation, particularly trees outside of parks, may be associated with better health. If replicated, this may suggest that urban street tree planting may improve population health.

Suggested Citation

  • Colleen E. Reid & Jane E. Clougherty & Jessie L.C. Shmool & Laura D. Kubzansky, 2017. "Is All Urban Green Space the Same? A Comparison of the Health Benefits of Trees and Grass in New York City," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:11:p:1411-:d:119415
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kirsten M. M. Beyer & Andrea Kaltenbach & Aniko Szabo & Sandra Bogar & F. Javier Nieto & Kristen M. Malecki, 2014. "Exposure to Neighborhood Green Space and Mental Health: Evidence from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-20, March.
    2. Mireia Gascon & Margarita Triguero-Mas & David Martínez & Payam Dadvand & Joan Forns & Antoni Plasència & Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen, 2015. "Mental Health Benefits of Long-Term Exposure to Residential Green and Blue Spaces: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-26, April.
    3. Joan A. Casey & Peter James & Kara E. Rudolph & Chih-Da Wu & Brian S. Schwartz, 2016. "Greenness and Birth Outcomes in a Range of Pennsylvania Communities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, March.
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    11. Tiana C. L. Moreira & Jefferson L. Polizel & Itamar de Souza Santos & Demóstenes F. Silva Filho & Isabela Bensenor & Paulo A. Lotufo & Thais Mauad, 2020. "Green Spaces, Land Cover, Street Trees and Hypertension in the Megacity of São Paulo," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-14, January.
    12. Matthew H. E. M. Browning & Alessandro Rigolon, 2019. "School Green Space and Its Impact on Academic Performance: A Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-22, February.
    13. Yonatal Tefera & Veronica Soebarto & Courtney Bishop & John Kandulu & Carmel Williams, 2023. "A Scoping Review of Urban Planning Decision Support Tools and Processes That Account for the Health, Environment, and Economic Benefits of Trees and Greenspace," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(1), pages 1-28, December.
    14. Liqing Zhang & Puay Yok Tan, 2019. "Associations between Urban Green Spaces and Health are Dependent on the Analytical Scale and How Urban Green Spaces are Measured," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-18, February.
    15. Wei-Lun Tsai & Melissa R. McHale & Viniece Jennings & Oriol Marquet & J. Aaron Hipp & Yu-Fai Leung & Myron F. Floyd, 2018. "Relationships between Characteristics of Urban Green Land Cover and Mental Health in U.S. Metropolitan Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-12, February.
    16. Soumya Mazumdar & Alison Dunshea & Shanley Chong & Bin Jalaludin, 2020. "Tree Canopy Cover Is Best Associated with Perceptions of Greenspace: A Short Communication," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-9, September.
    17. Miho Nishigaki & Masamichi Hanazato & Chie Koga & Katsunori Kondo, 2020. "What Types of Greenspaces Are Associated with Depression in Urban and Rural Older Adults? A Multilevel Cross-Sectional Study from JAGES," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-16, December.

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