ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
This article is part of the Research TopicGreening Urban Spaces and Human Health, Volume IIIView all 18 articles
Impact of Urban Green Spaces on Mental Restoration in Older Adults: From the Perspective of Subjective Perception
Provisionally accepted
- College of Art and Design, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China
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Introduction: This study investigates the impact of urban green spaces (UGSs) on mental restoration among older adults. It contributes to the development of age-friendly urban green spaces with greater inclusiveness and health-promoting functions. Methods: Data were collected via surveys conducted in five distinct UGSs in Nanjing, China. The Perceived Sensory Dimensions (PSDs) were used to evaluate the qualities of these green spaces, while the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) assessed the mental restoration of older adults. Multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the effect of the qualities of UGSs on mental restoration in older adults. Results: Four dimensions of the PSDs—culture, social, rich in species, and serene—had a positive effect on mental restoration in older adults. Gender-specific analysis showed that culture, rich in species, and serene positively impacted mental restoration in both genders. Conversely, social had a positive effect on older men, while refuge positively affected older women. Age-specific analysis showed that culture, social, and serene positively influenced mental restoration among participants aged 60–79 years, while rich in species positively impacted mental restoration among 60–69 years. Conclusion: Our findings reveal that specific environmental features of UGSs positively influence mental restoration in older adults. Moreover, the effects of environmental features on mental restoration varied by age and gender. Based on these findings, we propose four key considerations for designing UGSs.
Keywords: Mental restoration, older adults, urban green space, Perceived sensory dimensions, Environmental features
Received: 18 Aug 2025; Accepted: 24 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 ZHANG, Tan and Bu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: JIANJIAN ZHANG, nlzjj@126.com
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