Department of Environmental Health, Colorado School of Public Health, 13001 E. 17th Place, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
Soc Sci Med. 2011 Jun;72(11):1853-63. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.03.044. Epub 2011 May 1.
Current environmental and health challenges require us to identify ways to better align aesthetics, ecology, and health. At the local level, community gardens are increasingly praised for their therapeutic qualities. They also provide a lens through which we can explore relational processes that connect people, ecology and health. Using key-informant interview data, this research explores gardeners' tactile, emotional, and value-driven responses to the gardening experience and how these responses influence health at various ecological levels (n = 67 participants, 28 urban gardens). Our findings demonstrate that gardeners' aesthetic experiences generate meaning that encourages further engagement with activities that may lead to positive health outcomes. Gardeners directly experience nearby nature by 'getting their hands dirty' and growing food. They enjoy the way vegetables taste and form emotional connections with the garden. The physical and social qualities of garden participation awaken the senses and stimulate a range of responses that influence interpersonal processes (learning, affirming, expressive experiences) and social relationships that are supportive of positive health-related behaviors and overall health. This research suggests that the relational nature of aesthetics, defined as the most fundamental connection between people and place, can help guide community designers and health planners when designing environment and policy approaches to improve health behaviors.
当前的环境和健康挑战要求我们寻找更好的方法来协调美学、生态学和健康。在地方层面上，社区花园因其治疗性质而越来越受到赞誉。它们还为我们提供了一个视角，通过这个视角我们可以探索将人与生态和健康联系起来的关系过程。本研究使用关键知情人访谈数据，探讨了园丁们对园艺体验的触觉、情感和价值驱动反应，以及这些反应如何在各种生态层面上影响健康（n=67 名参与者，28 个城市花园）。我们的研究结果表明，园丁们的审美体验产生了意义，鼓励他们进一步参与可能带来积极健康结果的活动。园丁们通过“弄脏双手”和种植食物来直接体验附近的自然。他们喜欢蔬菜的味道，并与花园建立起情感联系。花园参与的物质和社会质量唤醒了感官，激发了一系列反应，这些反应影响了人际过程（学习、肯定、表达体验）和支持积极健康相关行为和整体健康的社会关系。这项研究表明，美学的关系本质（即人与地方之间最基本的联系）可以帮助社区设计师和健康规划者在设计环境和政策方法以改善健康行为时提供指导。
