The WooDestress index: a tool to evaluate the destressing potential of urban woodlands, through the assessment of their naturalness : a case study in Malmö
According to the United Nation the next years will be characterized by an urbanization process that will lead to the increase of densely populated areas. One of the possible consequence could be the increase of stressful factors, which can lead to chronic stress and chronic stress related diseases....
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| Formato: | H2 |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés Italiano |
| Publicado: |
SLU/Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre
2016
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| Materias: |
| _version_ | 1855571539070550016 |
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| author | Rizzetto, Riccardo |
| author_browse | Rizzetto, Riccardo |
| author_facet | Rizzetto, Riccardo |
| author_sort | Rizzetto, Riccardo |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | According to the United Nation the next years will be characterized by an urbanization process that will lead to the increase of densely populated areas. One of the possible consequence could be the increase of stressful factors, which can lead to chronic stress and chronic stress related diseases. To face this situation, a new approach in city planning is required. One of the aspect that urban managers should take into account is the important role that natural environments play to improve the citizen life quality. It was shown that the wooded areas characterized by the presence of many natural elements are among the most effective environments to reduce stress. However, an empirical method to characterize different urban woodland in order to know their “destressing potential” does not exist. For this reason, the purpose of this study is to develop an index to evaluate the naturalness of urban woodlands based on how they offer relaxing and destressing experiences. The result is the WooDestress index (WDI), a tool that considers five features already adopted to assess the naturalness in forest ecology. The evaluation of each feature depends on how it can contribute to offer relaxing experiences in an urban woodland. The index was tested for the first time in four urban parks located in Malmö (SE). According to the results, the main frame of the index seems to be valid, but it should be considered as a first draft. Some components of WDI should be improved and tested in different areas. However, with WDI it was possible to evaluate different woodlands in Malmö, obtaining different values. This result, even though it should be verified, it can be considered as a spark for the future research. |
| format | H2 |
| id | RepoSLU9539 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Inglés Italiano |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | SLU/Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre |
| publisherStr | SLU/Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU95392016-09-21T08:06:43Z The WooDestress index: a tool to evaluate the destressing potential of urban woodlands, through the assessment of their naturalness : a case study in Malmö Rizzetto, Riccardo WooDestress index stress green management naturalness urban woodland According to the United Nation the next years will be characterized by an urbanization process that will lead to the increase of densely populated areas. One of the possible consequence could be the increase of stressful factors, which can lead to chronic stress and chronic stress related diseases. To face this situation, a new approach in city planning is required. One of the aspect that urban managers should take into account is the important role that natural environments play to improve the citizen life quality. It was shown that the wooded areas characterized by the presence of many natural elements are among the most effective environments to reduce stress. However, an empirical method to characterize different urban woodland in order to know their “destressing potential” does not exist. For this reason, the purpose of this study is to develop an index to evaluate the naturalness of urban woodlands based on how they offer relaxing and destressing experiences. The result is the WooDestress index (WDI), a tool that considers five features already adopted to assess the naturalness in forest ecology. The evaluation of each feature depends on how it can contribute to offer relaxing experiences in an urban woodland. The index was tested for the first time in four urban parks located in Malmö (SE). According to the results, the main frame of the index seems to be valid, but it should be considered as a first draft. Some components of WDI should be improved and tested in different areas. However, with WDI it was possible to evaluate different woodlands in Malmö, obtaining different values. This result, even though it should be verified, it can be considered as a spark for the future research. Secondo le Nazioni Unite i prossimi anni saranno caratterizzati da un processo di urbanizzazione che determinerà l’aumento delle aree densamente popolate. Una delle possibili conseguenze potrebbe essere l’aumento di fattori causa di stress, i quali possono portare allo stress cronico ed a malattie ad esso correlate. Per affrontare questa situazione c’è bisogno di un nuovo approccio nella pianificazione della città. Uno degli aspetti che i gestori del verde urbano dovrebbero considerare è l’importante ruolo che ricoprono gli ambienti naturali nel migliorare la qualità della vita dei cittadini. E’ stato dimostrato che le aree boscate caratterizzate dalla presenza di molti elementi naturali sono tra gli ambienti più efficaci per la riduzione dello stress. Tuttavia non esiste un metodo empirico per caratterizzare diversi boschi urbani col fine di conoscerne la loro capacità di ridurre lo stress. Per questo motivo lo scopo di questo studio è di sviluppare un indice per valutare la naturalità di boschi urbani sulla base di come questi offrano esperienze di de-stress e rilassamento. Il risultato è l’indice WooDestress (WDI), uno strumento che considera 5 caratteristiche già adottate per la stima della naturalità in ecologia forestale. La valutazione di ciascuna caratteristica è basata su come queste contribuiscano ad offrire esperienze di rilassamento in un bosco urbano. L’indice è stato testato la prima volta in quattro parchi urbani di Malmö (SE). Stando ai risultati, la struttura principale dell’indice sembra essere funzionale, ma dovrebbe essere considerata come una prima bozza. Alcuni componenti del WDI dovrebbero essere migliorati e testati in diverse aree. Tuttavia, con il WDI è stato possibile valutare diverse aree boscate di Malmö, ottenendo valori differenti. Questo risultato, sebbene debba essere verificato, può essere considerato uno spunto per ricerche future. SLU/Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre 2016 H2 eng ita https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/9539/ |
| spellingShingle | WooDestress index stress green management naturalness urban woodland Rizzetto, Riccardo The WooDestress index: a tool to evaluate the destressing potential of urban woodlands, through the assessment of their naturalness : a case study in Malmö |
| title | The WooDestress index: a tool to evaluate the destressing potential of urban woodlands, through the assessment of their naturalness : a case study in Malmö |
| title_full | The WooDestress index: a tool to evaluate the destressing potential of urban woodlands, through the assessment of their naturalness : a case study in Malmö |
| title_fullStr | The WooDestress index: a tool to evaluate the destressing potential of urban woodlands, through the assessment of their naturalness : a case study in Malmö |
| title_full_unstemmed | The WooDestress index: a tool to evaluate the destressing potential of urban woodlands, through the assessment of their naturalness : a case study in Malmö |
| title_short | The WooDestress index: a tool to evaluate the destressing potential of urban woodlands, through the assessment of their naturalness : a case study in Malmö |
| title_sort | woodestress index: a tool to evaluate the destressing potential of urban woodlands, through the assessment of their naturalness : a case study in malmö |
| topic | WooDestress index stress green management naturalness urban woodland |