Effects of street greenery and seasonality on health and wellbeing of cyclists: a Virtual Reality experiment

Abstract

Abstract Street vegetation can play an important multifunctional role in increasing green spaces for more just, healthy and sustainable cities. However, there is still limited knowledge on how greenery exposure and seasonal conditions affect health and wellbeing during everyday active travel. This study integrates Virtual Reality, biosensors and visual semantic segmentation to test and compare different green infrastructure scenarios: only built, low greenery, high greenery and a winter condition. Using a between-subjects design, 138 participants were randomised to cycle in one of the four conditions, while gathering data on various physiological (skin conductance, blink rate, pupil diameter) and psychological outcomes (self-reported pre and post measures of restoration, affective states, subjective vitality). The results provide important empirical evidence that street greenery can decrease negative emotions and provide momentary stress reduction even under rapid exposure during a cycling commute. The findings also demonstrate high reactivity to natural elements in virtual environments.