Urban Oases: The Critical Role of Green and Blue Spaces in Mental Well-Being

Urbanization has significantly affected the availability and quality of urban green and blue spaces (UGBSs), which may affect mental health. In the United States, rates of anxiety and depression continue to rise, particularly in urban regions. This study examined the relationship between UGBS exposure and mental health, measured by Frequent Mental Distress (FMD), across major cities in the contiguous United States (CONUS) from 2015 to 2017. UGBS exposure was estimated using remote sensing and GIS, and its association with FMD was assessed using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). The analyses also included smoking, binge drinking, median income, and educational attainment as covariates. OLS results indicated statistically significant but spatially uniform associations, whereas GWR revealed considerable spatial variation in UGBS and covariate effects across cities. Median income and educational attainment consistently showed inverse relationships with FMD, while smoking showed direct relationships across all years. Binge drinking exhibited both direct and inverse relationships. Additionally, both green space and blue space showed different relationships with FMD depending on location and year. The beneficial effect of UGBS on FMD was not observed in every instance. These findings help clarify the relationship between environmental, behavioral, and socioeconomic factors and mental health in urban settings, providing information that may support informed urban planning and public health decisions.