University students are exposed to many stressors, necessitating opportunities for restoration. Research has indicated that actual experiences in nearby green spaces are associated with restorative psychological and physiological health benefits. However, the perception of greenness and restorativeness of environments might also impact health outcomes. Can green campus spaces provide restorative potential to university students? Do students perceive the greenness and restorative benefits? To explore these questions, students at three universities (convenience sample) were surveyed with items on perceived greenness of campus, perceived restorativeness of campus, and the World Health Organization Quality-of-Life Scale. Results indicate that those with higher perceived campus greenness report greater quality of life, a pathway significantly and partially mediated by perceived campus restorativeness. Future research should help identify effective ways in which university green spaces can be developed as health resources for students.

The existing literature suggests that neighborhood open space (NOS) may play an important role for older people in maintaining and enhancing their quality of life (QoL). However, little is known as to what attributes of such places are relevant to QoL in late life. This study explored what aspects of NOS are associated with health, life satisfaction, and outdoor activity (walking) for older people. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 284 people aged 65 years or older, living in Britain. The results indicate that the pleasantness and safety of open spaces were relevant to participants' life satisfaction, whereas the quality of paths to open spaces was associated with walking behavior. The distance to NOS was also correlated with life satisfaction. However, no NOS attributes were associated with participants' health status. These results are further discussed in the context of designing NOS to enhance older people's QoL.

Having a neighbourhood open space that is attractive and easy to visit can benefit older people's well-being. However, to date little research has explored the comparative importance of different attributes of local open space for older adults. This study drew on a sample of people from across Britain, aged from 60 to 97 years, to address this gap. It used choice-based conjoint analysis of environmental attributes relevant to older people's park preferences to demonstrate the comparative importance of nuisances such as signs of vandalism or dog fouling, and deterrents such as heavy traffic en route to an open space, as well as the importance of attractors such as cafes and toilets, trees and plants, things to watch, and good maintenance. The results published here provide the basis for scenario modelling to predict the effects of changes to any attribute in terms of overall preference. Key subgroups in the sample were identified, their responses differing significantly according to whether or not they lived alone or had any mobility impairment. The value of the research lies in demonstrating the effectiveness of the methods: scenario modelling can take these different subgroups' preferences into account and such analysis can be of considerable practical value to open-space planners and designers.

Purpose – This study aims to examine the environmental attributes relevant to older people's preferences for neighbourhood open spaces. It also aims to explore the association between the relative importance of different environmental attributes and personal and social characteristics in a sample of older people covering a range of geographic locations in the UK. Design/methodology/approach – Choice-based conjoint analysis (CBC) was used to obtain responses from a sample of 237 older people (60 years +) living in the UK. A total of 13 environmental attributes were identified from earlier qualitative and quantitative studies. Participants were asked to choose a preferred park from a pair of hypothetical neighbourhood parks differing on four of the attributes presented in a questionnaire. The questionnaire included 14 such tasks. Findings – The results suggest that older people preferred a neighbourhood park which is without nuisance, has cafes and toilets, many trees and plants, light traffic en route, wildlife to watch, and is well maintained. Analyses also reveal that whether or not people live alone, and their functional capabilities in getting around, make a difference in the way they place importance on attributes. Practical implications – The findings can assist those involved in designing and managing outdoor environments to identify salient environmental attributes and prioritise interventions aimed at improving access to, and use of, outdoor spaces for older adults. The approach aids understanding of what is likely to maximise preference and use of open spaces in different segments of the older population. Originality/value – Conjoint analysis procedures are some of the best tools available for determining importance or relative value of attributes of complex environments from the user point of view. The CBC analysis has been employed for the first time in this study to explore the relative importance of such attributes of open spaces for older adults.

Environmental strategies of affect regulation refer to the use of natural and urban socio-physical settings in the service of regulation. We investigated the perceived use and efficacy of environmental strategies for regulation of general affect and sadness, considering them in relation to other affect regulation strategies and to subjective well-being. Participants from Australia, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, India, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden (N = 507) evaluated the frequency of use and perceived efficacy of affect regulation strategies using a modified version of the Measure of Affect Regulation Styles (MARS). The internet survey also included the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), emotional well-being items from the RAND 36-Item Health Survey, and a single-item measure of perceived general health. Environmental regulation formed a separate factor of affect regulation in the exploratory structural equation models (ESEM). Although no relations of environmental strategies with emotional well-being were found, both the perceived frequency of use and efficacy of environmental strategies were positively related to perceived health. Moreover, the perceived efficacy of environmental strategies was positively related to life satisfaction in regulating sadness. The results encourage more explicit treatment of environmental strategies in research on affect regulation.