A comparison of green space indicators for epidemiological research

BackgroundThe potential for natural environments to be salutogenic has received growing interest from epidemiologists, but there has been no critical examination of the extent to which associations between green space and health might vary according to the indicator of green space coverage used.MethodsThree different indicators of green space coverage were derived for a set of 268 small areas in four cities within Britain. The indicators had different origins and provided a spectrum of sensitivity from larger spaces only, through to ambient greenery. Two indicators reproducible for anywhere in Europe were included. Agreement between the indicators on the quantity of green space in a small area, and their independent association with measures of mortality and self-reported morbidity, were compared.ResultsOverall, the indicators showed relatively close overall agreement (all r2>0.89, p