Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40684120›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2025

Citywide park renovations and changes in perceived stress: a quasi-experimental study among low-income communities in New York City.

Rachel L Thompson, Katarzyna E Wyka, Kelly R Evenson, Lorna E Thorpe, Glen D Johnson, Brian T Pavilonis, Terry T-K Huang

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In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Rachel L ThompsonCenter for Systems and Community Design, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York (CUNY), 55 West 125th Street, New York, NY, 10027, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3042-7887
Katarzyna E WykaCenter for Systems and Community Design, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York (CUNY), 55 West 125th Street, New York, NY, 10027, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5699-2497
Kelly R EvensonDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3720-5830
Lorna E ThorpeNYU-CUNY Prevention Research Center, New York, NY, USA.
Glen D JohnsonCenter for Systems and Community Design, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York (CUNY), 55 West 125th Street, New York, NY, 10027, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7826-5082
Brian T PavilonisDepartment of Environmental, Occupational, and Geospatial Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York (CUNY), 55 West 125th Street, New York, NY, 10027, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5065-3710
Terry T-K HuangCenter for Systems and Community Design, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York (CUNY), 55 West 125th Street, New York, NY, 10027, USA. terry.huang@sph.cuny.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5544-5187

Funding

Community-Engaged Intervention to Optimize the Impact of RenovatedNeighborhood Parks on Community WellbeingR01MD018209 · NIMHD · GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH POLICY · PI Terry T-K Huang · 2022 to 2026
$6.0M
Physical Activity and Redesigned Community Spaces (PARCS) Study Diversity SupplementR01CA206877 · NCI · GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH POLICY · PI HUANG, TERRY T-K · 2016 to 2020
$3.0M
CDC HHS U48DP006396National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities R01MD018209NCCDPHP CDC HHS U48 DP006396NCI NIH HHS R01 CA206877NCI NIH HHS R01CA206877New York Health Foundation 16-04236NIMHD NIH HHS R01 MD018209Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 76473
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundQuality parks have the potential to promote well-being and health equity in urban communities through reduced stress, yet high-quality epidemiological evidence is limited. This quasi-experimental study measured associations between park renovation and changes in perceived stress among low-income adults in New York City.

methodsPre- and post-renovation data on the Perceived Stress Scale and park use from 162 adults living near (< 0.3 miles) 31 renovated parks and 151 adults living near 21 sociodemographically matched control parks were analyzed. Linear mixed-effects difference-in-difference (DID) regression measured the association between park renovation and change in perceived stress (post-pre) in the overall sample and stratified by baseline sociodemographics. Additional models explored the interaction of post-renovation park use frequency [high (≥ once/week), low (< once/week)] and intervention status on changes in perceived stress.

resultsOverall, changes in perceived stress were similar between intervention and control groups [DID = 0.28 (95% CI -1.48, 2.03)]. However, park renovation was associated with a significant decrease in perceived stress among divorced/separated/widowed participants [DID = -4.22 (95% CI -7.92, -0.53)] and middle-aged participants (35-49y) with high park use [DID = -4.46 (95% CI -8.28, -0.64)]. Among intervention but not control participants, those with high park use experienced a significantly larger decrease in perceived stress compared to those with low park use [DID = -2.92 (95% CI -5.36, -0.47)].

conclusionsIn one of the first and largest studies on park quality improvement and mental health, park renovation near one's home was associated with decreased perceived stress among divorced/separated/widowed adults and middle-aged frequent park users. Frequent users of renovated parks experienced a larger drop in perceived stress than infrequent users, suggesting that high-quality parks may be an important pre-condition to the benefits of frequent park use on stress reduction.

Indexed as

Environment DesignParks, RecreationalPovertyStress, PsychologicalAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNew York CityYoung AdultBuilt environmentGreen spaceHealth equityMental healthPark renovationStress

Identifiers

PMID40684120
PMCPMC12275236

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.