School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, S Parks Rd, Oxford, OX1 3QY, United Kingdom.
Environ Res. 2023 Dec 15;239(Pt 2):117360. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117360. Epub 2023 Oct 17.
The coronavirus pandemic greatly disrupted the lives of people. Restrictions introduced worldwide to limit the spread of infection included stay-at-home orders, closure of venues, restrictions to travel and limits to social contacts. During this time, parks and outdoor greenspaces gained prominent attention as alternative location for respite. Population mobility data offers a unique opportunity to understand the impact of the pandemic on outdoor behaviour. We examine the role of the restrictions on park use throughout the full span of the pandemic while controlling for weather and region.
This study provides a longitudinal population analysis of park visitation using Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports data in the UK. Daily park visitation was plotted and ANOVA analyses tested season and year effects in visitation. Then, regressions examined park visitation beyond weather (temperature and rain), according to COVID-19 restrictions, while controlling for region specificities through unit fixed effect models.
Time series and ANOVA analyses documented the significant decrease in park visitation in the spring of 2020, the seasonal pattern in visitation, and an overall sustained and elevated use over nearly three years. Regressions confirmed park visitation increased significantly when temperature was greater and when it rained less. More visitation was also seen when there were fewer COVID-19 cases and when the stringency level of restrictions was lower. Of special interest, a significant interaction effect was found between temperature and stringency, with stringency significantly supressing the effect of higher temperature on visitation.
COVID-19 restrictions negatively impacted park visitation on warm days. Given the general health, social, and wellbeing benefits of greenspace use, one should consider the collateral negative impact of restrictions on park visitation. When social distancing of contacts is required, the few remaining locations where it can safely occur should instead be promoted.
冠状病毒大流行极大地扰乱了人们的生活。为了限制感染的传播，全球范围内采取了限制措施，包括居家令、关闭场所、限制旅行和限制社交接触。在此期间，公园和户外绿地作为替代休息场所受到了广泛关注。人口流动数据为了解大流行对户外行为的影响提供了独特的机会。我们在控制天气和地区的情况下，研究了整个大流行期间对公园使用的限制的作用。
本研究利用英国谷歌 COVID-19 社区流动性报告数据，对公园使用情况进行了纵向的人口分析。绘制了每日公园访问量的图表，并进行了方差分析，以测试访问量的季节和年份效应。然后，回归分析根据 COVID-19 限制，在控制特定地区的单位固定效应模型的情况下，考察了天气（温度和降雨）以外的公园访问量。
时间序列和方差分析记录了 2020 年春季公园访问量的显著下降，访问量的季节性模式，以及近三年来持续和显著增加的使用情况。回归分析证实，当温度较高且降雨较少时，公园访问量显著增加。当 COVID-19 病例较少且限制措施的严格程度较低时，访问量也会增加。特别值得注意的是，在温度和严格程度之间发现了一个显著的交互效应，严格程度显著抑制了高温对访问量的影响。
COVID-19 限制措施对温暖天气下的公园访问量产生了负面影响。鉴于绿地使用对健康、社交和幸福感的普遍益处，人们应该考虑到限制措施对公园访问量的负面影响。当需要保持社交距离时，应该推广那些可以安全进行的为数不多的剩余场所。
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