4.7 Article

I'm always entirely happy when I'm here! Urban blue enhancing human health and well-being in Cologne and Dusseldorf, Germany

Journal

SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE
Volume 78, Issue -, Pages 113-124

Publisher

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.09.047

Keywords

Germany; Urban blue; Therapeutic landscape; Water and health; Well-being; Cities; Environmental health; Urban planning

Ask authors/readers for more resources

Water is one of the most important landscape elements. In settled areas, planners rediscovered urban blue in the form of rivers as a soft location factor in post-industrial times. Although the recognition of the need for recreational or 'healthy' places like urban green or urban blue in cities is increasing, current urban planning is mostly conducted without taking beneficial health issues into account. In this paper an extended concept of therapeutic landscapes is used to analyse two promenades on the river Rhine in the centres of two German cities (Cologne and Dusseldorf). A complex of qualitative and quantitative methods from diverse disciplines is applied to obtain a multi-dimensional image of salutogenic health processes. The results show that the promenades are favourite places to spend leisure time and to engage in recreational activities, in addition to providing restoration from everyday stresses. Water is a strong predictor of preference and positive perceptive experiences in urban environments. Users of the promenades also report strong emotional attachments to the place. Urban blue space may be interpreted as a therapeutic landscape in various ways. The study forms a contribution to planning issues, particularly considering benefits for human health, and enhances current research concerning therapeutic landscapes. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.7
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available