Evidence map of health effects of urban nature-based solutions in communities vulnerable to climate change

In this poster for the National Adaptation Forum 2024, we will identify and categorize literature published in the last 20 years that addresses observed health benefits and burdens of NbS with respect to vulnerable communities experiencing climate change. Using a visual approach called evidence mapping, we will show which specific combinations of climate stressors, NbS, vulnerabilities, and health endpoints have relatively high evidence abundance. We will also identify evidence gaps. 

Impact/Purpose

This is a poster for the National Adaptation Forum 2024 which will take place in St. Paul, MN in May 2024. It will detail preliminary results from an evidence-mapping project that assesses the role of urban greenspace, green infrastructure, and other nature-based solutions (NbS) as adaptation strategies that could help alleviate disproportionate effects of climate change on vulnerable communities. We identified ~90 references ("seed set") published since 2000 that address NbS and human health, and searched Web of Science and PubMed for references that cited the seed set. We imported these references into Living Literature Review, an EPA web application that integrates literature searching and Machine Assisted screening. We read reference titles and abstracts to apply inclusion/exclusion criteria and custom categorization. The initial search produced 8626 total references (12/11/2023) and the preliminary LLR results shown on the poster reflect the first 1000 references screened. Several greenspace references mention demographic vulnerabilities or marginalization (n = 163; 25%), however very few mentioned non-demographic vulnerabilities (e.g., air pollution, urban heat island) (n = 42; 6.5%) or identified a specific climate stressor (n = 13; 2%). While 56% of included references study the general NbS category "greenspace" (366/650), almost none of the included references (1.5%) study physical and/or mental health in context of "green infrastructure" (10/650) (which might indicate a research gap). The evidence maps generated through this completed assessment will help inform urban climate adaptation strategies that involve greenspace and other nature-based solutions, serving as a resource for urban planners, local communities, and policy makers.

Citation

Panko, R., Annie Matsler, L. Moorhead, N. Olson, J. Penry, AND C. Ridley. Evidence map of health effects of urban nature-based solutions in communities vulnerable to climate change. National Adaptation Forum, St. Paul, MN, May 14 - 16, 2024.