DSpace Collection:http://hdl.handle.net/10722/387032024-03-29T05:41:49Z2024-03-29T05:41:49ZAssociation between Residential Greenness and Allostatic Load: A Cohort StudyLai, Ka YanKumari, SarikaGallacher, JohnWebster, Christopher JohnSarkar, Chinmoyhttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/3416772024-03-20T06:58:13Z2024-03-04T00:00:00ZTitle: Association between Residential Greenness and Allostatic Load: A Cohort Study
Authors: Lai, Ka Yan; Kumari, Sarika; Gallacher, John; Webster, Christopher John; Sarkar, Chinmoy
Abstract: <p>The association between residential greenness and allostatic load (AL), a marker of composite physiological burden and predictor of chronic disease, remains understudied. This study comprised 212,600 UK Biobank participants recruited over 2007 and 2010 at the baseline. Residential greenness was modeled as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from high spatial resolution (0.50 m) color infrared imagery and measured within a 0.5 km radial catchment. AL was measured as a composite index from 13 biomarkers comprising three physiological systems (metabolic, cardiovascular, and inflammatory systems) and two organ systems (liver and kidney). Multilevel mixed-effects generalized linear models with a random intercept for UK Biobank assessment centers were employed to examine the association between residential greenness and AL. Each interquartile range (IQR = 0.24) increment in NDVI greenness was associated with lower AL (beta (β) = −0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI) = −0.55, −0.01). Consistently, relative to the lowest NDVI greenness quintile, participants in the highest quintile had lower AL (β = −0.64, 95% CI = −1.02, −0.26). The proportion of the association between greenness and AL mediated by the physical activity was 3.2%. In conclusion, residential greenness was protectively associated with AL, a composite marker of wear and tear and general health.<br></p>2024-03-04T00:00:00ZRacial disparities, environmental exposures, and SARS-CoV-2 infection rates: A racial map study in the USAXu, WJiang, BWebster, CSullivan, WCLu, YChen, NYu, ZChen, Bhttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/3401772024-03-11T10:42:14Z2023-04-24T00:00:00ZTitle: Racial disparities, environmental exposures, and SARS-CoV-2 infection rates: A racial map study in the USA
Authors: Xu, W; Jiang, B; Webster, C; Sullivan, WC; Lu, Y; Chen, N; Yu, Z; Chen, B
Abstract: <p>Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers mainly examined how socio-economic, demographic, and environmental factors are related to disparities in SARS-CoV-2 infection rates. However, we don’t know the extent to which racial disparities in environmental exposure are related to racial disparities in SARS-CoV-2 infection rates. To address this critical issue, we gathered black vs. white infection records from 1416 counties in the contiguous United States. For these counties, we used 30m-spatial resolution land cover data and racial mappings to quantify the racial disparity between black and white people’s two types of environmental exposure, including exposures to various types of landscape settings and urban development intensities. We found that racial disparities in SARS-CoV-2 infection rates and racial disparities in exposure to various types of landscapes and urban development intensities were significant and showed similar patterns. Specifically, less racial disparity in exposure to forests outside park, pasture/hay, and urban areas with low and medium development intensities were significantly associated with lower racial disparities in SARS-CoV-2 infection rates. Distance was also critical. The positive association between racial disparities in environmental exposures and racial disparity in SARS-CoV-2 infection rates was strongest within a comfortable walking distance (approximately 400m).</p>2023-04-24T00:00:00ZGlobal patterns in human exposure to greenspace: Contrasting inequality between cities of the South and NorthChen, BinWu, ShengbiaoSong, YimengWebster, ChrisXu, BingGong, Penghttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/3401752024-03-11T10:42:13Z2022-03-16T00:00:00ZTitle: Global patterns in human exposure to greenspace: Contrasting inequality between cities of the South and North
Authors: Chen, Bin; Wu, Shengbiao; Song, Yimeng; Webster, Chris; Xu, Bing; Gong, Peng
Abstract: <p>The United Nations specified the need for “providing universal access to greenspace for urban residents” in the 11th Sustainable Development Goal. Yet, how far we are from this goal remains unclear in the global context. Here, we developed a methodology incorporating fine-resolution population and greenspace mappings and used the results for 2020 to elucidate global differences in human exposure to greenspace, specifically at country, state, county, and city levels. We identified a contrasting pattern of greenspace exposure between Global South and North cities. Global South cities (14.39%) enjoy only one third of the greenspace exposure level of Global North cities (45.84%), even though the South cities are generally located in more rural countries. Greenspace exposure inequality (Gini index: 0.47) in Global South cities is nearly twice that of Global North cities (Gini index: 0.27). The spatial disparity is largely associated with differences in urban greenspace landscape (R<sup>2</sup> = 79%). We quantified that 22% of the variation in greenspace exposure inequality is associated with greenspace provision, and that 53% is associated with the joint effect of greenspace provision and spatial configuration. These findings support the idea that urban green is, in economic terms, a <em>normal good</em>, with supply increasing with income, and our analysis is the first to reveal the global pattern of its deficit among urbanized parts of the planet. The results highlight the need for prioritizing greening policies and actions to mitigate environmental disparity and achieve sustainable development goals.<br></p>2022-03-16T00:00:00ZImproved equality of human exposure to greenspace in the 21st century urbanizationWu, ShengbiaoChen, BinWebster, ChrisXu, BingGong, Penghttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/3401762024-03-11T10:42:13Z2023-03-14T00:00:00ZTitle: Improved equality of human exposure to greenspace in the 21st century urbanization
Authors: Wu, Shengbiao; Chen, Bin; Webster, Chris; Xu, Bing; Gong, Peng
Abstract: <p>Greenspace plays a crucial role in urban ecosystems and has been recognized as a key factor in promoting sustainable and healthy city development. Recent studies have revealed a growing concern about urban greenspace exposure inequality; however, the extent to which urbanization affects human exposure to greenspace and associated inequalities over time remains unclear. Here, we incorporate a Landsat-based 30-meter time-series greenspace mapping and a population-weighted exposure framework to quantify the changes in human exposure to greenspace for 1028 global cities between 2000–2018. Results show a substantial increase in physical greenspace coverage and an improvement in human exposure to urban greenspace, leading to a reduction in greenspace exposure inequality over the past two decades. Nevertheless, we observe a contrasting difference in the rate of reduction in greenspace exposure inequality between cities in the Global South and North, with a faster rate of reduction in the Global South, nearly four times that of the Global North. These findings provide valuable insights into the impact of urbanization on urban nature and environmental inequality change and can inform future city greening efforts.</p>2023-03-14T00:00:00Z