do walking, social coherence and local social interaction explain the relationships?
GROUND: Studies have shown associations between health indices and access to “green” environments but the underlying mechanisms of this association are not clear. OBJECTIVES: To examine associations of perceived neighbourhood “greenness” with perceived physical and mental health and to investigate whether walking and social factors account for the relationships. METHODS: A mailed survey collected the following data from adults (n = 1895) in Adelaide, Australia: physical and mental health scores (12-item short-form health survey); perceived neighbourhood greenness; walking for recreation and for transport; social coherence; local social interaction and sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, those who perceived their neighbourhood as highly green had 1.37 and 1.60 times higher odds of better physical and mental health, respectively, compared with those who perceived the lowest greenness. Perceived greenness was also correlated with recreation
