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Restorative Environments
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Restorative Environments

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 12461

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria Jacinta Fernandes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Algarve, 8005 Faro, Portugal
Interests: environmental psychology; health psychology; sustainability; landscape ecology
Dr. Gabriela Gonçalves

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, University of the Algarve, 8005 Faro, Portugal
Interests: environmental psychology; occupational health and safety; social and organizational behavior

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nature is a restorative environment. Contact with natural environments decrease stress and facilitate physical and psychological restauration, benefit mood, self-esteem, and positive affect.  The green of the plants, the blue of the water, are main perceived environmental restorative features of the natural environments. For a long time, landscape architects and urban planners have been concerned about the restorative characteristics of nature and incorporated it in the design and management of urban green spaces and residential areas. In recent years, companies and institutions (e.g., schools, public service buildings) have also been integrating natural elements into their workspace. This special issue presents a set of studies related to the characteristics of restorative environments at different settings and their effects on physical and mental health, well-being, social interaction, satisfaction in work and educational environments, and performance. 

Dr. Maria Jacinta Fernandes
Dr. Gabriela Gonçalves
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • restorative environment
  • nature
  • green space
  • blue space
  • soundscape
  • health
  • well-being
  • social interaction
  • satisfaction in work
  • satisfaction in educational environments
  • performance

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 3002 KiB  
Article
Forest Bathing Increases Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being: A Mixed-Methods Study
by Jennifer Keller, Jean Kayira, Louise Chawla and Jason L. Rhoades
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21010008 - 20 Dec 2023
Viewed by 3064
Abstract
Previous research has demonstrated that practicing forest bathing has significant positive effects on adult psychological well-being. Considering the ongoing adolescents’ mental health crisis of increasing anxiety and depression, determining whether forest bathing has similar effects on adolescents is an important expansion of forest [...] Read more.
Previous research has demonstrated that practicing forest bathing has significant positive effects on adult psychological well-being. Considering the ongoing adolescents’ mental health crisis of increasing anxiety and depression, determining whether forest bathing has similar effects on adolescents is an important expansion of forest bathing research. This study investigated the possibility that forest bathing could improve adolescents’ mental well-being and sought to determine participants’ experiences of forest bathing. It used a convergent, parallel, mixed-methods design that was partially co-created with 24 participants aged 16–18 as part of a youth participatory action research (YPAR) project in which participants practiced forest bathing three times over 3 weeks. As measured using the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Survey, the mean participant mental well-being increased significantly after forest bathing, with moderate to large effect sizes. Participants described reduced stress and increased feelings of relaxation, peace, and happiness. These findings correlate with previous forest bathing research involving adult participants. It is recommended that educators and others who work with adolescents consider forest bathing as a simple, low-cost way to improve adolescents’ mental well-being. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Restorative Environments)
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19 pages, 8619 KiB  
Article
Developing a Pocket Park Prescription Program for Human Restoration: An Approach That Encourages Both People and the Environment
by Yuting Yin, Yuhan Shao, Yifan Wang and Liuxi Wu
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(17), 6642; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20176642 - 24 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1417
Abstract
Healing through nature has long been confirmed as an efficient way to improve human physical and psychological health in contemporary urban life. This concept evolved into the well-known Park Prescription Program. However, the psychological restoration imparted by nature was not particularly emphasized in [...] Read more.
Healing through nature has long been confirmed as an efficient way to improve human physical and psychological health in contemporary urban life. This concept evolved into the well-known Park Prescription Program. However, the psychological restoration imparted by nature was not particularly emphasized in the original Park Prescription Program; it primarily addresses the regulation of physical activities. The quality of urban parks may affect how well people pursue these prescriptions, but the program rarely includes designers among its stakeholders. This study is inspired by the Park Prescription Program, and its intent is to develop a Pocket Park Prescription Program that encourages usage by active people and proper landscape design. The inclusion of designers has been found to be extremely important for pocket parks since they are limited in size but have the advantages of high flexibility and accessibility, and their restorative potential needs be maximized with the limited resources available. Ten pocket parks with distinct functional and landscape attributes were selected in Shanghai as research sites. The Restorative Component Scale was designed into a questionnaire-based survey to measure how people perceived restorative experiences in each site. The onsite survey also incorporated questions investigating people’s behaviour characteristics of using these pocket parks. Site photos were taken and analysed with semantic image segmentation to indicate the landscape compositions of each site. The relations between people perceived restorativeness and parks’ using patterns and landscape characteristics were then explored with correlation analysis to provide cues on instructing how people’s visiting behavior and park landscape design can be improved. The results suggest there are better restoration results when people stay longer in pocket parks, and when people visit their neighborhood pocket parks two to three times a week, these benefits are further enhanced. This study also found that when these prescribed health behaviors are uncertain, the restorative experiences perceived by people can be improved with design interventions in regard to landscape elements such as vegetation, person, decorative lamps, pavement and terrain. These interventions should be made also in consideration of specific park functions. The research outcome intends to show that designers should be included as stakeholders in the Pocket Park Prescription Program, and it is expected to guide individuals towards effectively using pocket parks for restoration. This is to ensure that both the design and the people’s perspectives will be strengthened through the implementation of this program. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Restorative Environments)
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10 pages, 350 KiB  
Article
Engagement with Nature and the Home Environment: Wellbeing and Proenvironmental Behavior among Irish and Italian University Students during the COVID-19 Emergency
by Iana Ivanova Tzankova, Catherine O’Sullivan, Alessandra Iva Facciuto, Luciana Sacchetti, Fabiana Fini, Elvira Cicognani and Annalisa Setti
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(14), 6432; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20146432 - 23 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1311
Abstract
Growing evidence shows that exposure to nature and psychological engagement with nature improve health and wellbeing and promote greater proenvironmental engagement. The unprecedented situation created by COVID-related lockdowns seems to have brought both potential distress with household confinements and greater research on experiences [...] Read more.
Growing evidence shows that exposure to nature and psychological engagement with nature improve health and wellbeing and promote greater proenvironmental engagement. The unprecedented situation created by COVID-related lockdowns seems to have brought both potential distress with household confinements and greater research on experiences in nature. University students may have been particularly impacted as the quality of their home arrangements can vary substantially. The aim of the study was to examine how psychological engagement with nature (nature connectedness and noticing nature), time spent in nature, and household conditions relate to psychological wellbeing and proenvironmental behavior among university students. An online survey was administered to a sample of 566 university students from Italy and Ireland. Hierarchical multiple regressions were performed to investigate the relationships between variables. The results indicate that time spent in nature and psychological engagement with nature in terms of nature connectedness and noticing nature were associated with increased wellbeing and pro-nature-conservation behavior, controlling for demographic covariates. Moreover, the perception of chaos in one’s household was related to decreased wellbeing during the prolonged COVID-19 emergency. The findings highlight the need to invest in accessible natural places for students and to focus campus sustainability practices on encouraging nature connectedness to promote wellbeing and proenvironmental engagement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Restorative Environments)
11 pages, 2478 KiB  
Article
Urban Public Spaces as Restorative Environments: The Case of Ljubljana
by Katarina Polajnar Horvat and Daniela Ribeiro
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2159; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032159 - 25 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1561
Abstract
In this study, we used a survey to examine how urban residents in Ljubljana, Slovenia, value and use distinct urban public spaces. Specifically, we were interested to assess if urban public spaces in the city are used/perceived as restorative environments. To do this, [...] Read more.
In this study, we used a survey to examine how urban residents in Ljubljana, Slovenia, value and use distinct urban public spaces. Specifically, we were interested to assess if urban public spaces in the city are used/perceived as restorative environments. To do this, we addressed the question: To what extent do restorative dimensions differ in nine selected urban public spaces, varying in size, design, amenities, number of visitors, and, most importantly, degree of naturalness? Results from survey allowed to determine to what extent the selected urban public spaces in Ljubljana differ in terms of their perceived degree of restoration. We hypothesized that urban public spaces with a higher degree of naturalness in the city have a higher restoration value than urban public spaces with a lower degree of naturalness. Surprisingly, the urban public space that was above average on most restorative dimensions was the Old Town. These results are somewhat at odds with the attentional restoration theory, which states that the combination of dimensions is most typical of natural environments. However, this could be an indicator of the effectiveness of the city’s current policies to improve the quality of life for its citizens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Restorative Environments)
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14 pages, 1409 KiB  
Article
Interaction with Nature Indoor: Psychological Impacts of Houseplants Care Behaviour on Mental Well-Being and Mindfulness in Chinese Adults
by Jingni Ma
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(23), 15810; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315810 - 28 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2677
Abstract
(1) Background: The rapid growth of urbanisation and the increased prevalence of mental problems have been concerns in China. ‘Green prescription’ such as keeping houseplants has been found to be an effective means of interacting with nature and improving mental health outcomes. The [...] Read more.
(1) Background: The rapid growth of urbanisation and the increased prevalence of mental problems have been concerns in China. ‘Green prescription’ such as keeping houseplants has been found to be an effective means of interacting with nature and improving mental health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychological effects of keeping houseplants in the home and to examine how ‘connection to nature’ relates to mental well-being and mindfulness among Chinese adults living in urban areas; (2) Methods: A cross-sectional survey was completed by 421 (66.3% female) participants from 19 representative Chinese cities; (3) Results: Results revealed that participants who self-classified themselves as ‘houseplants carers’ reported higher levels of mental well-being compared with ‘non-houseplants carers’. Specifically, hours spent on taking care of houseplants, the number of houseplants, and the years of keeping houseplants were positively associated with greater levels of mental well-being and the trait of mindfulness. (4) Conclusions: The findings of the current study have implications for use of therapeutic horticulture for people who are seeking to improve their mental well-being and mindfulness in urban China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Restorative Environments)
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15 pages, 1043 KiB  
Systematic Review
Restorative Effects of Biophilic Workplace and Nature Exposure during Working Time: A Systematic Review
by Gabriela Gonçalves, Cátia Sousa, Maria Jacinta Fernandes, Nuno Almeida and António Sousa
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(21), 6986; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20216986 - 27 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1661
Abstract
The work environment plays a crucial role in the health and performance of employees. The growing interest in workers’ well-being has driven the inclusion of nature in workplaces, despite many employees spending most of their time indoors, away from nature. Studies show that [...] Read more.
The work environment plays a crucial role in the health and performance of employees. The growing interest in workers’ well-being has driven the inclusion of nature in workplaces, despite many employees spending most of their time indoors, away from nature. Studies show that biophilic design in offices can have positive effects and promote workers’ well-being. However, research on the beneficial effects of nature exposure in the workplace is limited and scattered. Thus, the aim of this systematic review was to consolidate current knowledge on the restorative effects of nature exposure on workers during work activities. Different types of exposure, both outdoors and indoors, were considered, with a focus on outcomes related to well-being, motivation, job satisfaction, and work performance. Out of the initially identified 1225 articles, only 16 met the criteria for analysis. Although the analysed studies provided compelling evidence regarding the restorative effects of nature exposure in the workplace, the review also points out gaps and limitations concerning the number of specific studies in this area and the need to adequately assess the sensory dimensions involved in these effects. Conducting more comprehensive and multidimensional investigations into the impacts of nature on the work environment could contribute to guiding more effective design strategies and creating healthier and more productive workplaces for employees. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Restorative Environments)
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