At Home with Nature

The nearby natural environment plays a far more significant role in the well-being of children residing in poor urban environments than has previously been recognized. Using a premove/postmove longitudinal design, this research rules out the effects of various extraneous variables that have plagued previous studies and explores the linkage between the naturalness or restorativeness of the home environment and the cognitive functioning of low-income urban children. Both before and after relocation, objective measures of naturalness are employed along with a standardized instrument measuring the children’s cognitive functioning. Results indicate that children whose homes improved the most in terms of greenness following relocation also tended to have the highest levels of cognitive functioning following the move. The implications with respect to policy and design are also discussed.

[1]  G. Evans,et al.  Housing quality and mental health. , 2000, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[2]  G. Evans,et al.  Chronic residential crowding and children's well-being: an ecological perspective. , 1998, Child development.

[3]  William C. Sullivan,et al.  Transforming Inner-City Landscapes , 1998 .

[4]  O. Obasanjo,et al.  The impact of the physical environment on adolescents in the inner city. , 1998 .

[5]  William C. Sullivan,et al.  Where Does Community Grow? , 1997 .

[6]  Patrik Grahn.  Ute pa dagis , 1997 .

[7]  Stephen Kaplan,et al.  The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework , 1995 .

[8]  Carolyn M. Tennessen,et al.  Views to nature: Effects on attention , 1995 .

[9]  H. Needleman.  Preventing childhood lead poisoning. , 1994, Preventive medicine.

[10]  R. Sebba.  The Landscapes of Childhood , 1991 .

[11]  A. Adesman.  The Attention Deficit Disorders Evaluation Scale. , 1991, Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP.

[12]  G. Evans,et al.  Restorative Effects of Natural Environment Experiences , 1991 .

[13]  B. Cimprich.  Attentional fatigue and restoration in individuals with cancer. , 1990 .

[14]  R. Kaplan,et al.  The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective , 1989 .

[15]  T. Blackman,et al.  Housing and Health: A Case Study of Two Areas in West Belfast , 1989, Journal of Social Policy.

[16]  Janet Frey Talbot,et al.  Ethnicity and Preference for Natural Settings: A Review and Recent Findings , 1988 .

[17]  A. Risser.  Human Developmental Neuropsychology , 1984 .

[18]  R. Ulrich.  View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. , 1984, Science.

[19]  Arza Churchman,et al.  THE IMAGE AND EXPERIENCE OF HIGH RISE HOUSING IN ISRAEL , 1984 .

[20]  C. Holahan.  Cognition and Environment: Functioning in an Uncertain World. , 1984 .

[21]  Rosedith Sitgreaves Bowker.  Measurement Theory for the Behavioral Sciences , 1983 .

[22]  N. Madge.  Growing up in the Inner City , 1982, Royal Society of Health journal.

[23]  Theodore D. Wachs,et al.  Early Experience and Human Development , 1982 .

[24]  V. P. Suransky.  The Erosion of Childhood , 1982 .

[25]  E. Moore.  A Prison Environment's Effect on Health Care Service Demands , 1981 .

[26]  D. Commerce.  Statistical abstract of the United States , 1978 .

[27]  N. Richman.  Behaviour Problems in Pre-School Children: Family and Social Factors , 1977, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[28]  A. Bronzaft,et al.  The Effect of Elevated Train Noise On Reading Ability , 1975 .

[29]  A. Gillis.  Population Density and Social Pathology: The Case of Building Type, Social Allowance and Juvenile Delinquency , 1974 .

[30]  M. Goodman.  The Enclosed Environment , 1974, Royal Society of Health journal.

[31]  B. Ineichen,et al.  Wives' mental health and children's behaviour problems in contrasting residential areas. , 1974, Social science & medicine.

[32]  J. Singer,et al.  Apartment noise, auditory discrimination, and reading ability in children. , 1973 .

[33]  D M Fanning,et al.  Families in flats , 1967, British medical journal.

[34]  R. Spitz.  Hospitalism; an inquiry into the genesis of psychiatric conditions in early childhood. , 1945, The Psychoanalytic study of the child.

[35]  W. James.  The principles of psychology , 1983 .

[36]  D. Spalding.  The Principles of Psychology , 1873, Nature.

[37]  LONDON: HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE , 2022 .