Inequalities in residential nature and nature-based recreation are not universal: A country-level analysis in Austria
- Author(s)
- Leonie Fian, Mathew White, Thomas Thaler, Arne Arnberger, Lewis R. Elliott, Michael Friesenecker
- Abstract
Evidence suggests that residential nature, e.g., greenness around the home, and nature-based recreation, e.g., visits to specific natural locations, are beneficial for health and well-being. However, several studies report that residential access is lower among socio-economically disadvantaged communities, potentially exacerbating health inequalities. We explored this issue in Austria, a relatively rural and mountainous country that also contains several cities, including the capital Vienna with around 2 million citizens. Data were drawn from a representative survey of the adult population across all nine Austrian regions (N = 2258) and explored socio-demographic predictors of residential green and blue space (using satellite data on surrounding greenness and distance to rivers and lakes), and visit frequencies to 12 different urban and rural green/blue environments. In contrast to most findings elsewhere, which usually focus on relatively specific locations (e.g., cities), we found little evidence of socio-economic inequalities in residential green/blue space at the whole country level. Further, although frequent visits to specific environments were less likely among, e.g., people with lower vs. higher education, other typically disadvantaged groups, e.g., those self-identifying as belonging vs. not belonging to an ethnic minority, reported more visits to e.g., urban parks and rivers. Findings suggest that inequalities in nature exposure may not be universal when considered at a country level.
- Organisation(s)
- Research Platform Plastics in the Environment and Society, Vienna Cognitive Science Hub
- External organisation(s)
- University of Exeter, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien
- Journal
- Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
- Volume
- 85
- No. of pages
- 10
- ISSN
- 1618-8667
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2023.127977
- Publication date
- 05-2023
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 507007 Land use planning
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Forestry, Soil Science, Ecology
- Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 15 - Life on Land
- Portal url
- https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/inequalities-in-residential-nature-and-naturebased-recreation-are-not-universal-a-countrylevel-analysis-in-austria(b783215b-c045-4194-bf9b-f5ad1a198ee7).html