Linking green space to health: a comparative study of two urban neighbourhoods in Ghent, Belgium

This paper investigates the nature of the relationship between the greenness of the local environment and the health and well-being of its inhabitants by looking at a number of possible mediators within the same study: physical activity, perceived stress, ability to concentrate, social cohesion and neighbourhood satisfaction. Data were collected through a survey of residents in two neighbourhoods that differ objectively in green space provision, but which are largely similar in demographics, socio-economic factors, housing conditions and other environmental characteristics, apart from green space. Of the three dependent variables of interest: self-reported general health, bodily functioning and general well-being (happiness), it was self-reported happiness that differed significantly between the two neighbourhoods, with greater happiness in the greener neighbourhood. Amongst the possible mediators, people??s satisfaction with their neighbourhood differed significantly: those living in the greener neighbourhood were more satisfied. Mediation analysis indicated that neighbourhood satisfaction fully mediates the relationship between neighbourhood greenness and happiness. Among the specific (environmental and social) neighbourhood qualities asked about, perception of neighbourhood greenness was found to be the most important predictor of neighbourhood satisfaction. Additional analysis showed that the view from the living room??green or not green??fully mediates the relationship between neighbourhood greenness and neighbourhood satisfaction. This study underscores the importance of nearby green space for people??s overall well-being and suggests the need for green space to be evaluated in terms of visual proximity, that is, whether and how it is experienced from the street and the home.     

Women’s mobility and ‘transport-related social exclusion’ in Bishkek

This paper analyses gendered mobilities in Bishkek in the space of the most popular form of public transport: the minibus, or ‘marshrutka’. As the means by which women often access various important sites of daily life, the marshrutka itself is a site of negotiation and interaction. Utilizing theories of mobility and empirical data, we argue that marshrutkas are spaces that can give rise to two dichotomous conditions: positive marshrutka experiences may increase the social mobility of female passengers and subsequently increase social empowerment and influence, while negative ones can provide the grounds for social exclusion and gender inequality.     

Analyzing Accessibility Dimension of Urban Quality of Life: Where Urban Designers Face Duality Between Subjective and Objective Reading of Place

The subject of urban quality of life and the promotion of its concept in particular, has always been the central focus of urban designers. This term is a multi-conceptual and dimensions. However most of the scholars have agreed that the concept consisted from two main dimensions; objective and subjective which these two approaches are used for its measuring. One of the important goals of urban designers is to create urban environment that all citizens have easy access to urban services, as accessibility reflects the quality of an urban environment. The present research intends to measure the public space accessibility by using objective approach in first and then by using the subjective approach for measuring in the study area to compare the results. The results revealed that there are considerable differences between objective and subjective measuring of urban quality of life in a urban space, therefore urban designers can not rely only on the results of objective measuring to understand such spaces for planning, if so, their attitudes towards urban spaces could not be an appropriate guide for explaining the quality of life for urban residents.     

From Child to Parent? The Significance of Children’s Education for Their Parents’ Longevity

In addition to own education and other socioeconomic resources, the education of one’s children may be important for individual health and longevity. Mothers and fathers born between 1932 and 1941 were analyzed by linking them to their children in the Swedish Multi-generation Register, which covers the total population. Controlling for parents’ education, social class, and income attenuates but does not remove the association between children’s education and parents’ mortality risk. Shared but unmeasured familial background characteristics were addressed by comparing siblings in the parental generation. In these fixed-effects analyses, comparing parents whose children had tertiary education with parents whose children completed only compulsory schooling (the reference group) yields a hazard ratio of 0.79 (95 % CI: 0.70–0.89) when the socioeconomic position of both parents is controlled for. The relationship is certainly not purely causal, but part of it could be if, for example, well-educated adult children use their resources to find the best available health care for their aging parents. I therefore introduce the concept of “social foreground” and suggest that children’s socioeconomic resources may be an important factor in trying to further understand social inequalities in health.     

流动儿童城市社会交往的逻辑——指向一种质量互释的混合研究

与其父辈不同，流动儿童的城市社会交往遵循独特的运作逻辑。从其城市生活的社会情境出发，学校类型、家庭教育与社区结构，都会影响到流动儿童与城市社会的接触机会、交往过程．从而产生不同的交往后果。学校在流动儿童城市社会交往中扮演着格外重要的角色，流动儿童的学校类型不同，其城市社会交往的逻辑迥异。在不同的学校空间，流动儿童建构出了不同的交往文化。公办学校的流动儿童获得了更多与城市儿童及其家长接触的机会，他们与城里人的交往频率也更高，因而更有可能冲破身份制度的藩篱，从结构上实现与城市的社会融合。民工学校流动儿童则正在经历从“文化再生产”到“社会再生产”的过程。     

Social aspirations and choice of fertility: why can status motive reduce per-capita growth?

To examine the relationship between social aspirations, fertility choices and growth performances, we develop a R&D-based model in which individuals care about the number of children they bring up and their social status. In such an economy, we find that stronger status motives have a negative effect on growth. The reason is that individuals bring up fewer children, as children are an obstacle to the achievement of their social status. Introducing an endogenous choice of quality for children, we show that stronger status motives lead individuals to bring up fewer but higher quality children. In this case, social aspirations heighten the desire of parents to substitute the quantity for the quality of children because education of children fosters society’s productive ability, indirectly improving parents’ social status. I would like to thank Michael Bleaney, Juntip Boonprakaikawe, Trudy Owens, Kaipichit Ruengsrichaiya, two anonymous referees, and one editor of the review for their helpful comments and suggestions. I am grateful to the University of Nottingham (UK) for its support during the redaction of this paper.     

Differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic families in social capital and child development: First-year findings from an experimental study

Disadvantages faced by Hispanic children in the U.S., compared to non-Hispanic Whites, have been widely reported. Economic differences account for some of the gaps, but the social isolation of Hispanic families also serves as a barrier to children's success. Whereas Hispanic families tend to have strong kinship networks, their social ties often do not encompass the school and other authority systems. As a result, Hispanic families may have less access to social capital, that is, relations of trust and shared expectations that foster the flow of relevant information and support social norms that contribute to children's academic and social development. To study the role of social capital in child development, we embarked on a school-randomized trial in two cities with large Hispanic populations: San Antonio, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona. In this paper, we report on first-year data from what will be a three-year longitudinal study, including 24 of an eventual 52 schools and about 1300 of what will be a sample of over 3000 children. We aimed to manipulate social capital through an intervention called Families and Schools Together (FAST), a multi-family after-school program that enhances relations among families, between parents and schools, and between parents and children through a sequence of structured activities over 8 weekly sessions. In the first year, 12 schools were randomly assigned to participate in FAST, and 12 served as controls. Data come from district administrative records, surveys of parents prior to FAST, and surveys of parents and teachers immediately after FAST. Surveys prior to FAST confirm that Hispanic parents have less extensive parent–school networks compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Comparisons of school means on post-FAST surveys indicate that parents in FAST schools experience more extensive social networks than those in control schools, but the differences are much more apparent in Phoenix than in San Antonio. Similarly, a pattern of better behavioral outcomes for children in FAST schools is evident in Phoenix but not San Antonio. Individual-level comparisons suggest that for some outcomes, effects may be larger for non-Hispanic Whites than for Hispanics, which would undermine potential contributions to reducing inequality.     

Mediating Effects Between Objective and Subjective Indicators of Urban Quality of Life: Testing Specific Models for Safety and Access

Enhancing the urban quality of life (QoL) is an explicit policy goal of many countries, yet it is rarely studied using models that relate objective measures of the urban environment to the subjective evaluations of residents. It thus often remains unclear how planning interventions in the urban environment may influence residents’ satisfaction with their living conditions. In particular, during periods of significant urban growth, such as those recently observed in Switzerland, which result in diverse, unwanted threats to the local QoL (e.g., loss of green spaces, traffic congestions, and fear of crime). This study uses data from a sample of 1,693 residents that participated in a postal survey about urban QoL. The responses were combined with objective attributes of residential conditions, using geographic information systems. Structural equation models were calibrated to examine the direct and indirect effects of important indicators of urban QoL, namely safety in public spaces and access to central urban facilities. The study sheds further light on the mediating effects between objective characteristics and subjective evaluations that influence the urban QoL. The results showed predominantly low correlations between objective characteristics and subjective evaluations of urban QoL, which confirmed the findings of the few previous studies on this topic. Surprisingly, this study also found a strong link between objective access and perceived accessibility. This relation was explained by the spatial scope of the study region and suggested that the scale discordance theory should be tested in future research. The findings implied that variations in objective measures do not reliably represent differences as evaluated by residents.     

基于符号互动论视角下的个体生育态度探究

近年来随着人口老龄化进程的明显加快，以及不同地区、城市出现的生育率持续走低等情况，中国未来人口数量的变化成为了一个十分重要的议题。近年来，国家先后制定了“双独生二胎”、“单独生二胎”以及全面放开二胎等鼓励民众生育的相关政策；相关学者也从人口学和经济学等视角对生育问题展开了诸多研究。本研究则是从符号互动论这一微观社会学视角出发，试图了解民众（主要集中在1970年至1995年出生的群体）生育态度是否会受到社会心理因素，尤其是从小生长的家庭环境中，兄弟姊妹等手足人数、手足关系、父母对待子女公平与否和出生排行的影响；以及当前生活环境，如社会治安状况、经济发展前景和政治稳定性等方面的主观判断对生育态度的影响；最后研究还将结婚意愿、性别等因素纳入到影响个体生育态度的分析模型之中。研究结果发现，兄弟姊妹等手足越多者，未来越倾向要生孩子；手足间关系越好者，未来也越倾向于要生孩子；排行中间的比排行老大的生孩子意愿高；无论父母对自己和手足公平情况怎样，都不会影响其生育态度。此外在所有外在环境中，经济状况是影响人们生育态度的主要因素，有结婚意愿者更倾向于生育孩子，男性也显著比女性更倾向于生育孩子。     

Measuring Social Capital and Its Differentials by Family Structures

Social capital has often been invoked to explain differences in children’s well-being by family structure. That is, developmental outcome for children in lone or step parent family is not at par with that of children from intact family because parental investments on children may be lower not only in financial and human capital but also in social capital. This proposition has been difficult to examine in greater depth because of lack of conceptual clarity and of data to measure social capital. Using a definition of social capital as the “ability to secure benefits through membership in networks and other social structures”, we focus on the impact of family structures on social capital engendered by three types of networks: (a) informal ties with kin, families, friends, neighbours, and workmates; (b) generalized relationships with local people, people in civic groups, and people in general; and, (c) relationships through institutions. In particular, we examine differences in the measures of social capital among women living with no children in various marital arrangements, and women living with children in intact, step, and lone parent families. Data from the Canadian 2003 General Social Survey on Social Engagement confirm that social capital is indeed greater in intact families than in lone parent families. Mothers in intact families (especially married mothers) have larger informal networks, are members of more primordial and purposive organizations, have greater trust in people in the family, in the neighbourhood, and in people in general, and have greater confidence in government or business institutions. In general, social capital of mothers in step families is in between that of married mothers in intact families and lone mothers. Thus, the assumption in the literature that family structure can serve as a proxy for social capital may be justified. However, this study contributes a unique way of measuring social capital in terms of networks if and when data are available and a way of investigating the relationship between family structure and social capital; that is, the former as a determinant of the latter.     

子女教育影响老年父母健康的机制及其异质性

基于2018年中国健康与养老追踪调查(CHARLS)数据,运用Logit计量方法考察子女教育对老年父母健康的影响。结果发现子女教育提高1年,老年父母健康状况改善的可能性显著提高4.28%,异质性检验发现这种影响不存在城乡和性别差异。基于人力资本代际传递理论和社会资本理论,将子女教育影响老年父母健康的渠道归纳为资源转移、健康行为和社会性支持,结果发现:子女教育主要通过向父母转移资源和帮助老年父母优化健康行为习惯来改善父母健康,未能通过社会支持渠道产生健康促进效应。其中通过资源转移渠道和以适度饮酒、运动及休闲为代表的健康行为渠道分别解释了子女教育对老年父母健康促进效应的27.78%和9.78%,提高资源转移能力是子女教育影响老年父母健康的主要渠道。在我国老龄化背景下,需要重视子女教育对父母健康的促进作用。同时,采取积极措施拓展社会支持渠道,降低父母对子女的资源依赖,并加强健康教育,优化健康行为。     

Types of Personal Social Networks of Older Adults in Portugal

This study presents and discusses a three-dimensional typology for personal social networks of Portuguese older adults. We used a K-means cluster analysis of structural, functional and relational-contextual variables of the networks of 612 participants aged 65?+?(M?=?76?±?7.6), mostly women (63%). Four types of networks emerged: family networks, friendship networks, neighbourhood networks and institutional networks. The most frequent are family networks (61.8%), constituted by 94.6% of family ties, on average, attesting the familistic nature of the older persons’ networks in Portugal, followed by friendship networks (23.5%) and neighbourhood networks (11.9%). The less frequent type is the institutional network (2.8%), dominated by formal ties (M?=?59.3%). Sociographic profiles reveal that family networks are more likely to be held by middle-old focal subjects, married or widowed, and with children. Friendship and neighbourhood networks are held by young-old subjects with different marital status, many of them living alone, with a higher proportion of men with friendship networks. Institutional networks are held by old–old, widowed or single with no children. The presented typology contributes to understand social support needs and social isolation. The conclusions allow to anticipate social services’ demand trajectories and to propose intervention plans and social policy measures to promote the wellbeing of the older population.

     

Perceptions of Quality Life in Hamilton’s Neighbourhood Hubs: A Qualitative Analysis

This paper examines perceptions of quality of life in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada from the perspective of residents and key community stakeholders. A series of eight focus groups were conducted. Six sessions were held with residents of neighbourhood ??hubs??, areas characterized by high levels of poverty. The following themes were highlighted as significant to neighbourhood quality of life: (1) housing quality and affordability (2) diversity and cultural integration; (3) crime and safety; (4) community engagement and recreation; (5) green space and the physical environment, and; (6) transportation. Two focus groups were then conducted with key informants who provided recommendations for improving quality of life and discussed relevant policy issues such as employment and income security. The findings of the focus groups resonate with local research and policy action in Hamilton, including a new Neighbourhood Development Strategy for the City. This research advocates for decision-makers to support and work alongside context-based, resident-led community development efforts. The hub model, as well as Hamilton??s broader neighbourhood-based research and community development approach may assist social researchers, civic leaders and various levels of government across Canada as they work to improve quality of life in their communities.     

Children and the Mental Health of Older Adults in China: What Matters?

China is witnessing several major demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural trends that likely intersect in unique and significant ways to influence the health and well-being of its older adult population. Concerns that such trends may be eroding traditional family structures and values raise questions about the continued importance and impact of children on the lives of their older parents. Do children matter and, if so, what is it about having children that makes a difference to the mental health of their parents? This study addressed these issues using baseline data drawn from the Chinese Longitudinal Aging Social Survey, conducted in 2014. Multivariate OLS regression analyses revealed the importance of having children for parental mental health. This relationship was found to be mediated by economic/utilitarian factors (co-residence, the receipt of financial, and instrumental support) as well as psychological/emotional factors (companionship, emotional support), and social/traditional factors (children’s socioeconomic status achievements). These findings support the view that children continue to be important to the mental health of their older parents in contemporary China. Further, what matters most when it comes to understanding the influence that children have on parents’ mental health are their perceived accomplishments in life and their meaningful presence in the day-to-day lives of their parents.

     

Testing a Moderated Model of Satisfaction with Urban Living using Data for Brisbane-South East Queensland,Australia

Using survey data collected from households living in the Brisbane-South East Queensland region, a rapidly growing metropolis in Australia, path analysis is used to test links between urban residents’ assessment of various urban attributes and their level of satisfaction in three urban domains-housing, neighbourhood or local area, and the wider metropolitan region – moderated by selected demographic characteristics of respondents. The analysis also shows the relative contribution of those urban domains to overall life satisfaction. Neighbourhood satisfaction is shown to be much less important in predicting overall life satisfaction than is satisfaction with housing and the region. However, neighbourhood satisfaction impacts indirectly on overall life satisfaction, mediated by regional satisfaction and housing satisfaction. In predicting regional satisfaction, the cost of living and government service provision are shown to be most important, with pollution important for younger people and parents, while improvements to transport systems are more important for the baby boomer generation. Neighbourhood satisfaction is best predicted by neighbourhood interaction and perceived crime, with neighbourhood interaction being more important for older people, while perceived crime is more important for younger and single people. Access to facilities is a poor predictor of neighbourhood satisfaction, except for parents. Satisfaction with housing is shown to be best predicted by housing age, temperature and home ownership. However, larger homes are important for parents, while young people prefer smaller homes. The importance of various urban attributes does not vary between genders. While material concerns like the cost of living and the provision of services are shown to be primary factors underlying overall satisfaction with urban living, the importance of environmental issues and demand for smaller homes might be expected to increase over time.     

Everyday Life Mobilities of Older Persons – A Case Study of Ageing in a Suburban Landscape in Sweden

Abstract

This paper describes the changing everyday life mobility of an older couple living in a suburb in Sweden. The methods used are longitudinal interviews and time-geographical diaries. The results show a pronounced dependence on car use. Representations of suburbia – as places of freedom, independence and mobility enabled by private cars – devolve into a harsh reality, i.e. disabling lock-in effects for people gradually losing locomotion, and experiencing diminishing mobility capital and social intercourse. From a time-geographical perspective, capability constraints unfold in the form of time-demanding basic needs and limited access to different modes of transport due to deteriorating health and location of residence. Increased neighbourhood barriers and authority constraints also imply restricted access to different spaces and reduced control over one’s life situation.     

Childlessness and Psychological Well-Being in Midlife and Old Age: An Examination of Parental Status Effects Across a Range of Outcomes

The study explores and distinguishes links between parental status (childless persons, parents with residential children, and empty nest parents) and a range of psychological well-being outcomes in midlife and old age. Data are from the first wave of the Norwegian Life Course, Ageing and Generation (NorLAG) study (n = 5,189). We separate outcomes into cognitive (life satisfaction and self-esteem) and affective (positive and negative affect, depression, loneliness) components. Parental status has a net effect on cognitive well-being among women, as childless women report significantly lower life satisfaction and self-esteem than both mothers with residential children and empty nest mothers. However, motherhood is inconsequential for affective well-being. Among men, parental status is unrelated to any of the well-being aspects. Parental status effects are not modified by age, marital status, and education. The results demonstrate the importance of investigating the effect of parental status and other objective circumstances on a range of psychological well-being outcomes. Furthermore, the results reviewed and presented indicate somewhat more positive effects of parenthood in the Nordic countries than in the US, highlighting the role of social policies in shaping the impact of parental status on well-being.     

Resources, Fertility, and Parental Investment in Mao's China

During the first three decades of the People's Republic of China, income differences across social classes were compressed. Formal education was not an important determinant of personal income. In this study, there was no difference in income between white-collar and blue-collar families, although white-collar parents had more education than blue-collar parents. In urban China, where population density was high, couples of different occupational status appeared to make different trade-offs between quantity and quality of children. Urban white-collar couples had fewer, but better-educated, children than their blue-collar counterparts. In rural areas, white-collar couples still had better educated children than blue-collar couples, but no difference was found in lifetime reproductive success. High population density and an occupational structure that incidentally helped reinforce unequal distribution of cultural capital in the population encouraged urban couples with different levels of resources (i.e., cultural capital rather than income in this case) to adopt different reproductive strategies.     

Parental Resources, Schooling Achievements, and Gender Schooling Gaps: Evidence of Change over 25 years in Rural Guatemala

We use village census data and linear regression models to examine changes between 1975 and 2002 in the associations of parental resources with boys’ and girls’ schooling in four rural Guatemalan villages. Levels of schooling in 1975 were universally low for children 7–17 years. Large increases in schooling achievements occurred between 1975 and 2002. By 2002, schooling levels were comparable for younger boys and girls (7–12 years, N = 3,525) and favored older boys compared to older girls (13–17 years, N = 2,440) by about 0.5 grades. The associations of household standard of living and maternal schooling with schooling among girls diminished over time and became more comparable with these associations among boys, and the associations of household standard of living with schooling among older boys declined and became more comparable with these associations among girls. Thus, as increased social investments reduce the costs of schooling or increase the supply and quality of schooling to families, the magnitudes of the associations between parental resources and children’s schooling decline and become more gender equitable at all ages. However, our results show that older boys may benefit more than older girls from social investments in schooling. These changes suggest potential needs to monitor gender gaps in schooling retention among older children, to insure gender equitable access to social investments in schooling, and to encourage parents to invest in schooling as joint measures to achieve greater schooling achievements of girls and boys.