A joint research group from the University of the Ryukyus and Assistant Professor Uchiyama Yuta of the Kobe University Graduate School conducted an integrated analysis of socioeconomic and environmental factors, such as age, income, and childhood experiences with nature, to examine inequalities in the frequency of visits to nature areas such as green spaces and waterfronts, and clarified factors that are expected to influence visitation frequency for each age group.
Inequality in access to green spaces and waterfronts is an important issue in terms of environmental justice and environmental inequality. Access to a high-quality natural environment is a fundamental human right, and although it is important, it tends to be a low priority in many policies. This is partly because it is believed that this can be indirectly solved by economic growth, and the current state of environmental inequality has not yet been fully understood.
The research group conducted an integrated analysis of socio-economic factors as well as environmental factors, such as age, income, and childhood experiences with nature, and analyzed the importance of each factor for different age groups. Specifically, they conducted a questionnaire survey (3,500 respondents) targeting the Hanshin and Tokyo areas and analyzed the results.
As a result, it was found that the presence of farmland near residential areas, grasslands near shopping destinations, and deciduous forests near workplaces are related to the frequency of visits to green spaces and waterfronts. It was also found that inequality in nature experiences among young people, and disparities in mental connections to nature among middle-aged and older people, are particularly related to disparities in the frequency of nature visits.
Satoyama environments, where farmland and forests are distributed in a mosaic pattern, are highly accessible and offer attractive traditional landscapes with comfortable thermal environments, and have the potential to rectify disparities in the frequency of nature visits. It is hoped that the results of this research will be applied to urban environmental development and environmental education according to the characteristics of age groups in the future.