Abstract
A questionnaire survey was conducted in residential areas within the Tokyo metropolitan area in order to understand the effects that urban greening and activities in the green spaces have on the health-related quality of life (QOL) of its residents. Based on the data gathered, structural equation modeling was used to construct a path model consisting of the concepts of "regional environment" that includes green spaces, "green space activities", and "health-related QOL". This path model indicated that 20% of the health-related QOL attributes were likely determined by regional environment and green space activities, and while the direct effects of these two were roughly equivalent, the regional environment appeared to exert an indirect effect through the activities conducted. These findings suggest that, in order to improve health-related QOL, it is important to study the activities that occur in green spaces in addition to the physical greening of the environment.
