The health benefits of environmental improvements at three green sites in the UK, involving urban park and canal regeneration schemes, were measured in 92 local users.
The environmental improvements encouraged more people to visit the sites, to visit more frequently and to spend longer engaging with nature on each visit (see Table 1).
Significantly more people visited the improved sites for exercise, health, scenery and wildlife. The number of visits increased but more importantly the improved environments were starting to attract
new visitors.
Table 1: A comparison of the number and duration of visits before and after restoration at the 3 sites
Before
After
% Increase
No. of visitors (who
completed visitation questions)
133
150
12.8
No. of visits per month
1535
2007
30.8
No. of visits per person per month
11.5
13.4
15.9
No. of visitors (who
completed duration questions)
129
144
11.6
Total time spent at site for all users during one visit (mins)
4580
6068
32.5
Average time spent at site per person (mins)
35.5
42.1
18.7
Total time spent at site per person per month (mins)
410
564
37.6
Note: A month refers to a 4 week period; the numbers of visitors do not match as calculations do not include those who had never visited it before the improvements or who had not completed both sections of the questionnaire.
