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Greenspace as Relational Infrastructure: Mechanisms Converting Urban Green Access into Physical Activity and Wellbeing
Steven Rose, Dr William Bird
Intelligent Health, United Kingdom
Purpose: Urban green space policies often prioritise biodiversity net gain, spatial provision, and accessibility, assuming that exposure will translate into health gains. We examined the mechanisms through which greenspace improves health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA) and wellbeing, testing whether benefits operate directly or indirectly through relational and psychosocial pathways.
Methods
Cross-sectional survey data from 1,985 adults participating in Beat the Street (Salford, UK) were linked to neighbourhood greenspace access. IMD-adjusted parallel mediation models tested associations between greenspace and three outcomes: physical inactivity, self-reported mental health condition, and life satisfaction. Three conceptually distinct mediators were examined: Place (neighbourhood attachment and exploration), Purpose (control, optimism, fulfilment), and People (belonging and social connection).
Results: Direct associations between greenspace access and outcomes were weak after adjusting for deprivation. However, significant indirect pathways were observed. For life satisfaction, greenspace effects operated almost exclusively through relational and psychosocial mediators. For physical inactivity, 59% of the total association operated through mediators (indirect effect –1.31 percentage points, 95% CI –2.24 to –0.54). For mental health, 24% of the association was mediated (indirect effect –0.24 pp, 95% CI –0.44 to –0.04). The strongest pathways involved neighbourhood exploration, recent park use, perceived safety, belonging, and psychological agency.
Conclusions: Greenspace improves health not through exposure alone, but when it functions as relational infrastructure that converts opportunity into activity and wellbeing. Urban green space strategies should therefore prioritise relational design features—safety, sociability, neighbourhood attachment, and psychological agency—alongside spatial provision and biodiversity targets to maximise health enhancing physical activity and mental health gains.
