Access to outdoor and green spaces has been associated with better physical and mental health in children.
What has our research shown about green space use in Bradford?
We conducted qualitative research to understand how families living in the Better Start Bradford area were using local green spaces. We found that:
- Low income, multi-ethnic families with young children greatly value green space.
- Green spaces can become no-go areas for these groups due to fears about safety.
- Social support is a key facilitator of use, reducing fears around using these spaces.
- Improving quality of green space alone is unlikely to increase use.
- Empowering communities and co-producing interventions are key to encourage use.
What next for research around green spaces in Bradford?
We are using innovative participatory methods to explore how the maintenance, co-design and ownership of green spaces affect their use for health benefits.
Three phases of data collection will be conducted in a longitudinal qualitative study spanning 3 years. Each phase will use transect walks, where participants walk with a researcher in a space and share their perceptions and perspectives on different aspects of the space. It will also use photovoice – where participants take photographs to illustrate aspects of significance, in this case within the urban green spaces, that they would like to draw attention to or discuss. The photographs taken by participants will then be used to spark discussion with participants as well as with other community members later in the study, during semi-structured interviews and focus groups.
Theme summary written by Farwa Batool
Click on an icon below to find out more about our research on early interventions around outdoor and green spaces.
the Better Start Bradford Innovation Hub 
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