Page - 91 - in Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change

91© The Author(s) 2019 M. R. Marselle et al. (eds.), Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02318-8_5 Chapter 5 The Influence of  Socio-economic and  Socio-demographic Factors in  the  Association Between Urban Green Space and  Health Nadja  Kabisch Abstract Green spaces can help  preventing potential negative health outcomes from climate change and urbanisation. Urban green spaces may reduce cardiovas- cular diseases exaggerated by heat stress or noise because of their climate regulation and noise-buffering potential. Urban green space may also promote physical activ- ity and social interactions, and thus improve the physical and mental health of resi- dents who tend to be more stressed in urban environments. Research findings on associations between urban green space and health outcomes are, however, not con- sistent, and potential relationships are often affected by confounding factors. In this chapter, a systematic review of the association between urban green space and health is presented, with a particular focus on socio-economic and socio- demographic confounders that may over-ride potential associations. Results show that there is some positive effect of urban green space on mental health and cardio- vascular diseases. However, evidence is weak as many other studies show that socio-economic confounders, such as household income or neighbourhood depriva- tion, have the highest impact. The mediating effect of urban green space to decrease health inequality among different socio-economic groups may be more important. Based on the results of the review, conclusions are drawn on how to design green space that is beneficial for the health and well-being of all population groups includ- ing the vulnerable groups of children, the elderly and deprived people. This field of research is growing, and important prospects for future research on urban green and health are highlighted. Keywords Green space · Urban · Health · Well-being · Confounder N. Kabisch (*) Department of Geography, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany e-mail: nadja.kabisch@geo.hu-berlin.de