Stories, Shrines, and Symbols
Recognizing Psycho-Social-Spiritual Benefits of Urban Parks and Natural Areas
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19004844 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Erika S Svendsen (0000-0001-5831-5003, Northern Research Station, corresponding author), Lindsay K Campbell (0000-0002-7065-8997, Northern Research Station), H Mcmillen (0000-0002-5835-8879, Northern Research Station), Heather L Mcmillen |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 881-881 |
| Publication date | 2016-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Ethnobiology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0278-0771 • E-ISSN: 2162-4496 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2993/0278-0771-36.4.881 |
| OpenAlex | W2579945159 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 22 |
| References cited | 37 |
Urban parklands are biological and social resources. While there is a growing recognition that park users interact with these resources to promote well-being, the diversity of these practices and benefits is not fully appreciated. Here we draw upon data from a social assessment of 40 New York City (NYC) parks spanning 11,200 acres and we focus on psycho-social-spiritual benefits that are co-produced by park users and parks. Our methods include interviews (n 1,680), field observations, and photo documentation. Given our large and diverse sample, the data show that psycho-social-spiritual engagement with parkland is important across geographic, sociocultural, religious, and other identities throughout NYC. While specific practices may be culturally differentiated, we find that urban parks support psycho-social-spiritual well-being for a wide range of people who engage in practices that reflect personal desires to connect with nature and a larger reality, as well as via a broader set of practices focused on connecting with self and with others. Our approach is novel because it integrates data on park users from interviews, observations of activities, and material evidence of prior use of parklands. We describe our findings and present a typology of psycho-social-spiritual engagement with natural areas in NYC parklands. This study advances theoretical understandings of the psycho-social-spiritual as it manifests within the dynamic relationship between humans and the urban environment, raises questions about the implications of these findings for the management of social-ecological systems, and suggests future research that delves into the practices of specific cultural and park user groups
Documentation · Environmental ethics · Geography · Natural resource · Political science · Public relations · Sociocultural evolution · Sociology · Typology · Anthropology · Place Attachment and Urban Studies · Urban Agriculture and Sustainability · Urban Green Space and Health · Ecology
Biocultural stewardship, Indigenous and local ecological knowledge, and the urban crucible
Qualitative Assessment of Experience on Urban Forest Therapy Program for Preventing Dementia of the Elderly Living Alone in Low-Income Class
The Role of the Physical and Social Environment in Observed and Self-Reported Park Use in Low-Income Neighborhoods in New York City
Health perception and restorative experience in the therapeutic landscape of urban wetland parks during the Covid-19 pandemic
Visitor perception of Tokyo’s parks’ attributes
Green or Grey Pandemic Recovery? Revealing the Blue–Green Infrastructure Influences in Aotearoa-New Zealand’s “Shovel Ready” Covid-19 Response
Estimating and mapping the value of cultural ecosystem services in an urban landscape context
Investigating spatial heterogeneity of park inequity using three access measures
Diverse values and benefits of urban sacred natural sites
The ‘quiet hunt’
The Bronx River and Environmental Justice Through the Lens of a Watershed
Apples for Audubon and Eggplant for Oya
An Exploration of Psychosocial Pathways of Parks’ Effects on Health
Using Social Media Data to Evaluate Urban Parks Use during the Covid-19 Pandemic
A social assessment of urban parkland
Urban parks as spaces to pursue virtuous character, friendship, and contemplation
The Written Park
Making sense of handwritten signs in public spaces
Community needs of minority male youth living in inner-city Chicago
Exploring biocultural diversity in urban ecosystems
Ethnobiology's Contributions to Sustainability Science
Vegetal Agency in Street Tree Stewardship Practices
Gathering “wild” food in the city
People needs in the urban landscape
Children With Attention Deficits Concentrate Better After Walk in the Park
Sacred groves
The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting With Nature
The Fruit of Urban Nature
The influence of urban green environments on stress relief measures
Reflection and Attentional Recovery as Distinctive Benefits of Restorative Environments
The contribution of local parks to neighbourhood social ties
Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments
View Through a Window May Influence Recovery from Surgery
Sacred Species and Sites
Understanding Urban Green Space as a Health Resource
Sacred Sites
Environmental Correlates of Physical Activity
Evolutionary Advantages of Intense Spiritual Experience in Nature
A social assessment of urban parkland
Childhood obesity and proximity to urban parks and recreational resources
Nature-Based Recreation and Spirituality
Spiritual Functions of Leisure and Spiritual Well-Being
Urban residential environments and senior citizens’ longevity in megacity areas
Qualitative Insights into Leisure as a Spiritual Experience
The role of urban parks for the sustainable city
Pathways to Environmental Responsibility
Green space as a buffer between stressful life events and health
Tibetan Sacred Sites
Make-Believe
Existential Questions and Health
Techniques to Identify Themes
Urban Forest Justice and the Rights to Wild Foods, Medicines, and Materials in the City
Biocultural Diversity
| Unique citing works | 22 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,2 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2025 (10) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 21 |