Frequent park use is associated with reduced stress after citywide park renovation

Abstract Background Quality parks have the potential to promote well-being in urban communities through reduced stress. The impact of parks on stress may be greater among individuals who use parks frequently. Using pre- and post-renovation data from the Physical Activity and Redesigned Community Spaces (PARCS) study, we evaluated the role of citywide park renovation in the association between park use and perceived stress. Methods PARCS evaluated the impact of the NYC Community Parks Initiative, which led to the renovation of dozens of previously disinvested neighborhood parks throughout NYC. Longitudinal data on park use and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) from 162 adults residing within 0.3 miles of 31 renovated park sites and 151 adults living near 21 socio-demographically matched control parks were analyzed. Linear mixed-effects difference-in-difference (DID) regression was used to assess the association between park use frequency at follow-up and change in PSS over time in intervention vs. control conditions (2- and 3-way interactions). Models were adjusted for age, education, children in household, marital status, and public housing. Results Both intervention and control groups experienced significant declines in PSS over the study period (2016-2022) [Intervention= -2.88 (95% CI -4.10,-1.67), Control=-3.16 (95% CI -4.43,-1.90)]. We found no net difference in change in PSS between the intervention and control groups overall [DID=0.28 (95% CI -1.47,2.03)]. However, there was a significant 3-way interaction of time x park use x intervention (p < 0.05). Among participants in the intervention group, those who had high park use at follow-up experienced a significantly larger decrease in PSS compared to those with low park use [DID=-2.92 (95% CI -5.34,-0.49)]. Within the control group, there was no difference in PSS change by park use frequency [DID=1.05 (95% CI -1.48,3.59)]. Conclusions Park renovation was a pre-condition to the benefit of frequent park use on stress reduction.