Stigsdotter, U.A. & P. Grahn, 2004, A garden at your doorstep may reduce stress – private gardens as restorative environments in the city, in: OPENspace, ‘Open space, people space’, OPENspace, Edinburgh
- Author : Stigsdotter, U.A. & P. Grahn
- Year : 2004
- Published in Book : Open space, people space
- Abstract in English : Can gardens surrounding residential homes in cities help to create a less stressful everyday environment? This article is based on a study in which 953 randomly selected persons in nine Swedish cities answered a questionnaire concerning their experiences of their own health status and access to and use of gardens at home. The results show that having access to a garden has a significant positive impact on stress. There is also a significant positive relationship between frequency of garden visits and stress prevention. The study also shows that the amount of verdure in the garden is crucial to its restorative quality. The results indicate that verdant gardens in the city may play an important part in offering restorative environments, irrespective of the citizens’ socio-economic background, gender or age.
- Comments/Notes : KEYWORDS: gardens, stress, restorative environment, health factor, residential home.