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. 2022 Oct 3;19(19):12651.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph191912651.

Sociodemographic Variations in the Availability of Urban Green Spaces in an Older Swedish Population

Kristoffer Mattisson  1 , Anna Axmon  2 , Gunilla Carlsson  3 , Agneta Malmgren Fänge  3 , Connie Lethin  3 , Emilie Stroh  1
Affiliations

Sociodemographic Variations in the Availability of Urban Green Spaces in an Older Swedish Population

Kristoffer Mattisson et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Urban green spaces (UGS) can have a positive impact on health and thereby potentially ease the strain on the health care system. However, the availability and benefits seem to vary between different sociodemographic groups. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between sociodemographic factors and availability to UGS among people aged 65 years or older. Data on sociodemographic variables and residential coordinates were obtained for three cross-sectional cohorts in two cities (Malmö and Kristianstad) and three years (2010, 2015, and 2019). Three measures of urban green spaces; total (UGS), public (PGS) and quiet (QGS), within 300 m were used to determine availability. The results indicated higher availability to both total and publicly available urban green spaces for groups with lower socioeconomic status (SES) is positive from a health perspective. However, availability to high qualitative publicly available urban green spaces, from a noise perspective, was lower, indicating the opposite.

Keywords: ageing; cross-sectional; geographical information systems; neighborhood; socioeconomic; urban green space.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview map of location of the county of Scania in Sweden (upper left), the municipalities Malmö and Kristianstad location in Scania (upper right) and study areas in Malmö (lower left) and Kristianstad (lower right) for the three cohorts.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Residential density of persons 65 years or older in Malmö and Kristianstad city, within respectively municipality in 2010, 2015 and 2019.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Map showing distribution of total and publicly available urban green spaces Malmö and Kristianstad city, within respectively municipality in 2010 and 2015.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Adjusted risk ratios (dots) with 95% confidence intervals (lines; blue = 2019, red = 2015, black = 2010) for associations between sociodemographic variables and different measures of urban green spaces within 300 m of residency in Malmö city (top) and Kristianstad city (bottom).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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