TY - JOUR

T1 - Disentangling associations of human wellbeing with green infrastructure, degree of urbanity, and social factors around an Asian megacity

AU - Thapa, Pramila

AU - Torralba, Mario

AU - Nölke, Nils

AU - Chowdhury, Koushik

AU - Nagendra, Harini

AU - Plieninger, Tobias

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.

PY - 2024/8/8

Y1 - 2024/8/8

N2 - Context: Often called a ‘Garden city’, Bengaluru is renowned for its green infrastructure. However, the association of human wellbeing with the amount of tree cover (as an example of green infrastructure), degree of urbanization, and local people's socio-demographics has not been explored. Objective: We investigated how human wellbeing is related to the amount of tree cover at household and neighborhood levels, the degree of urbanity, and underlying social factors among respondents. Methods: The study was conducted in 61 towns along the rural–urban gradient of Bengaluru, surveying 836 respondents in total. Data on multiple dimensions of respondents’ wellbeing was collected between December 2016 and May 2017. The percentage of tree cover at the household and neighborhood levels was obtained based on WorldView-3 images. Logistic regression models were applied to assess correlations between human wellbeing and tree cover. Kruskal–Wallis tests, Mann–Whitney tests, and cross tabulation with chi-square tests were conducted to investigate relations of human wellbeing with the degree of urbanity, and with social factors. Results: We found that several variables of human wellbeing were positively associated with tree cover. Measures of wellbeing also differed along the rural–urban gradient and among social groups. Conclusions: Though urbanization is often considered to promote material wellbeing, non-material aspects (e.g., community activities and social relationships) are also important components of overall human wellbeing in urbanizing landscapes. Holistic interactions among natural, spatial, and social factors should be considered while designing interventions for equitable urban landscapes that promote human wellbeing and ecological restoration.

AB - Context: Often called a ‘Garden city’, Bengaluru is renowned for its green infrastructure. However, the association of human wellbeing with the amount of tree cover (as an example of green infrastructure), degree of urbanization, and local people's socio-demographics has not been explored. Objective: We investigated how human wellbeing is related to the amount of tree cover at household and neighborhood levels, the degree of urbanity, and underlying social factors among respondents. Methods: The study was conducted in 61 towns along the rural–urban gradient of Bengaluru, surveying 836 respondents in total. Data on multiple dimensions of respondents’ wellbeing was collected between December 2016 and May 2017. The percentage of tree cover at the household and neighborhood levels was obtained based on WorldView-3 images. Logistic regression models were applied to assess correlations between human wellbeing and tree cover. Kruskal–Wallis tests, Mann–Whitney tests, and cross tabulation with chi-square tests were conducted to investigate relations of human wellbeing with the degree of urbanity, and with social factors. Results: We found that several variables of human wellbeing were positively associated with tree cover. Measures of wellbeing also differed along the rural–urban gradient and among social groups. Conclusions: Though urbanization is often considered to promote material wellbeing, non-material aspects (e.g., community activities and social relationships) are also important components of overall human wellbeing in urbanizing landscapes. Holistic interactions among natural, spatial, and social factors should be considered while designing interventions for equitable urban landscapes that promote human wellbeing and ecological restoration.

KW - Green spaces

KW - Landscape sustainability science

KW - Nature-based solutions

KW - Remote sensing

KW - Tree cover

KW - Urbanization

KW - Environmental planning

KW - Environmental Governance

KW - Biology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85200835999&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/2c0028fc-c7c7-38e9-89dc-d32f8382b07a/

U2 - 10.1007/s10980-024-01937-6

DO - 10.1007/s10980-024-01937-6

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85200835999

VL - 39

JO - Landscape Ecology

JF - Landscape Ecology

SN - 0921-2973

IS - 8

M1 - 152

ER -