The Future is Green. Integrating Green and Blue Space Data from European Urban Atlas into UK Biobank.

BackgroundGreen and blue spaces can promote good physical and mental health and prevent the development of long-term conditions. Evidence suggests that not all green spaces affect health equally, and that certain types and properties of green spaces are stronger predictors of health than others. However, research into the causal mechanisms is limited in large cohorts due to lack of objective and comparable data on green space type, accessibility, and usage. MethodsWe used data from Urban Atlas to compute measures of urban park accessibility, street trees availability, and total green and blue space availability for 300,000 UK Biobank participants. Exposure metrics were computed using circular buffers with radii of 100 m to 3000 m. Pearson correlation coefficients and other descriptive statistical parameters were used to test agreement between variables and explore the utility of indictors in capturing different types of green spaces. ResultsStrong positive correlations were observed between variables of the same indicator with different buffer sizes. The presence of park and proportion of street tree canopy variables were negatively correlated with amount of total green space variables. This signifies distinct differences in type of green spaces captured by these variables. ConclusionsOverall, five distinct indicators of park accessibility, street trees availability, and total green and blue space availability have been integrated into a large sample of the UK Biobank. Our method is replicable to settings across Europe and facilitates evidence-based research on the roles of different green and blue spaces in health promotion and ill-health prevention. Key MessagesO_LIDifferent types of green spaces and their position in the neighbourhood can promote and protect health by mitigating pollution and increasing physical activity and socialisation. C_LIO_LIWe present the methods of constructing and linking data on urban green spaces, street trees and natural vegetation into a large health cohort, the UK Biobank. C_LIO_LIThe ability to distinguish between types of green spaces and their intended use can help inform public health interventions, influence urban policy, and aid urban planning in building sustainable and healthy cities. C_LIO_LIOur methods are transferable and will allow others to explore the links between environment and health in UK Biobank and other health cohorts. C_LI