Randomized Informational Intervention and Adult Park Use and Park-Based Physical Activity in Low-Income, Racially Diverse Urban Neighborhoods.

Background: Neighborhood parks are important locations to encourage and stimulate physical activity (PA) among the urban population. This study aims to evaluate the impact of an informational intervention on adult park use and PA behaviors in 3 low-income, racially diverse urban neighborhoods in Minneapolis, MN.

Method: The study employed a household-level randomized controlled trial and collected baseline and follow-up data from 171 participants.

Understanding subjective well-being: perspectives from psychology and public health.

Background: Individual subjective well-being (SWB) is essential for creating and maintaining healthy, productive societies. The literature on SWB is vast and dispersed across multiple disciplines. However, few reviews have summarized the theoretical and empirical tenets of SWB literature across disciplinary boundaries.

Park-Use Behavior and Perceptions by Race, Hispanic Origin, and Immigrant Status in Minneapolis, MN: Implications on Park Strategies for Addressing Health Disparities.

The study examines the connections between minority status, park use behavior, and park-related perceptions using recent survey data from three low-income neighborhoods in Minneapolis, MN. Blacks and foreign-born residents are found to underutilize parks. Blacks, Asians, and American Indians perceive fewer health benefits of parks than whites, including the benefits of parks for providing exercise/relaxation opportunities and family gathering spaces.

Family structure and park use among parents.

Background: Despite the increasingly diversified family structure in the U.S., little research examines differences in park use between nontraditional and traditional family structures.

Neighborhood green, social support, physical activity, and stress: assessing the cumulative impact.

We estimate the cumulative stress mitigating impact of neighborhood greenness by investigating whether neighborhood green mitigates stress directly, and indirectly by encouraging physical activity and/or fostering social support. Using data from a recent community health survey in Chicago and two-stage instrumental variables regression modeling, we find that different components of neighborhood green play distinct roles in influencing stress. Park spaces are found to indirectly mitigate stress by fostering social support.