Increasing walking: How important is distance to, attractiveness, and size of public open space?

TL;DR: Qualitative research on physical activity in urban parks informed by a published classification scheme based on quantitative research suggests that perceptions of the social environment entwine inextricably with perceptions ofthe physical environment and that physical attributes of parks as well as perceptions of these attributes may influence physical activity patterns.

TL;DR: This study focuses on three mechanisms through which greenery might exert its positive effect on health: stress reduction, stimulating physical activity and facilitating social cohesion.

TL;DR: Perceived neighbourhood greenness was more strongly associated with mental health than it was with physical health, whereas the relationship between greenness and mental health was only partly accounted for by recreational walking and social coherence.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed and critically examined evidence related to parks and recreation as features of the built environment and the relationship of these settings to physical activity (PA) and reported an empirical relationship between parks or recreation variables and PA variables.

TL;DR: Attention Restoration Theory provides an analysis of the kinds of experiences that lead to recovery from such fatigue and an integrative framework is proposed that places both directed attention and stress in the larger context of human-environment relationships.

TL;DR: In this article, an empirical analysis of the residential development patterns illustrates that accessibility and the availability of vacant developable land can be used as the basis of a residential land use model.

TL;DR: The Symposium as mentioned in this paper offered their programs as "laboratories" for researchers, facilitating pertinent research into these important questions, and several collaborations are likely to come out of this symposium and most participants left with a refined sense of direction for their programs and research.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide a framework for the development of accessibility measures and two case studies suggestive of the range of possible approaches are presented, as well as issues that planners must address in developing an accessibility measure.