Page - 113 - in Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change

113 green space that is most beneficial for all population groups including the vulnera- ble groups of children, the elderly and deprived people designed? In the review, green space assessments were conducted that focus on different types of green space, such as parks, street trees or house gardens. Small-scale urban green space such as tree canopies in cities have been shown to improve health effects such as birth outcome, mortality and restoration (Abelt and McLafferty 2017) (see also Lindley et  al. Chap. 2, this volume). Small green spaces such as street trees, paths, greenways or gardens provide effective opportunities for restora- tion and stress reduction as types of micro-restorative settings (Mitchell et  al. 2015; Triguero-Mas et  al. 2015). The increase in the number of street trees in an urban neighbourhood and the maintenance of existing trees might be of particular impor- tance in disadvantaged neighbourhoods as this could go hand-in-hand with potential positive effects for environmental justice (Landry and Chakraborty 2009; Abelt and McLafferty 2017). In the study by Cusack et  al. (2017), it was shown that an increase in urban green space on smaller scales is particularly important in high density urban areas to improve birth outcomes. Further, a stronger association between green space and lower mortality rates was highlighted for those living in areas with higher population densities (Xu et  al. 2017). The authors argue that the beneficial effects of green space, including physical exercise opportunities, pollution and urban heat island reduction, and stress relief, may be more needed among people living in more urbanised settings. To conclude, the implementation and mainte- nance of small-scale green spaces in the form of trees, but also green space within a 50-m distance, is particularly beneficial in high-density urban areas (Markevych et  al. 2014; Casey et  al. 2016). In many articles, the authors pointed to the fact that the availability, accessibility and quality of urban green spaces is important for health benefits (Paquet et  al. 2013). The size of the park might be one quality criteria that particularly relates to physical activity and mental health outcomes. It has been argued that larger parks in particular are related to a lower risk of cardiometabolic diseases and greater levels of physical activity, whereas studies that only focus on accessibility distance mea- sures without considering any quality aspect could often not find any significant relationship between health outcomes and urban green space (Michael et  al. 2014; Nichani et  al. 2017). Mukherjee et  al. (2017) found an inverse association between park size and depression. They suggested that large parks in particular may provide more benefits of green space exposure, because in their case study of Delhi, they are better maintained, have more natural spaces and diverse landscapes, and are more frequently visited, which translates into more opportunities to socialise. It can be concluded that the quality and a certain size but also the availability within a certain distance of an urban green space all play a role in motivating individuals to use outdoor spaces for physical activity (Jenkin et  al. 2015; Mukherjee et  al. 2017). Furthermore, the review results showed how green spaces equipped with play- grounds, sport areas, benches, toilets, lights, trees to provide shade, and good side- walk quality and connectivity can play a more important role in green space use for health and well-being and should be considered in urban planning and decision- making (Michael et  al. 2014). Particularly for children, green spaces provide places 5 The Influence of  Socio-economic and  Socio-demographic Factors in  the  Association…