Regional Variations in Nature Exposure: Development of a Multidimensional Green-Blue Space (GBS) Index for Mental Health Research and Policy

Regional Variations in Nature Exposure: Development of a Multidimensional Green-Blue Space (GBS) Index for Mental Health Research and Policy | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Regional Variations in Nature Exposure: Development of a Multidimensional Green-Blue Space (GBS) Index for Mental Health Research and Policy Anastasia Tsakiridi, Dialechti Tsimpida This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6700543/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper introduces a novel Multidimensional Green-Blue Space Index (GBSI) to quantify access to natural environments for mental health research and policy applications. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), we develop a comprehensive index that incorporates both accessibility and quality characteristics of green and blue spaces. Six categories of environmental features were evaluated: active green spaces, passive green spaces, blue spaces, areas within 300m of active green spaces, areas within 300m of passive green spaces, and areas within 300m of blue spaces. Expert elicitation with nine specialists from five UK universities established the relative importance of these features using pairwise comparisons, yielding weights subsequently used in the GBS Index calculation. The resulting index was applied to Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) across England, revealing significant spatial heterogeneity in access to quality green-blue spaces. The methodology enables identification of areas with insufficient access to health-promoting environments and facilitates evidence-based decision-making for spatial planning and mental health policy interventions. This spatially explicit approach demonstrates how quantitative spatial analysis can support targeted public health strategies aimed at enhancing population wellbeing through environmental planning. Green-blue spaces Mental health Geographic Information Systems Analytic Hierarchy Process Spatial analysis Environmental accessibility Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6700543","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":458851138,"identity":"e6aaa6e5-c1f1-4a7d-9fb7-c58eab3b8d88","order_by":0,"name":"Anastasia Tsakiridi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Southampton","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Anastasia","middleName":"","lastName":"Tsakiridi","suffix":""},{"id":458851139,"identity":"692fd3d7-a3e8-48a2-92d7-b2e34e6b683e","order_by":1,"name":"Dialechti Tsimpida","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA60lEQVRIie3RsYqDMBjA8Q8+8JYPXQ3Xh8jUSbhXMQhO9pZ7gXbp2rXDPUfmHIFzEVwdOrQITg4pXdqtNiKFAz3Hg8sfAiHkRxIC4HL9xVQ3YgACherH8ijBgXixnc0j/YT4POKrQJtTdlj4eXEx52v0Di/6iFSME6bQC4VsiBUryfZx+gGUcqRqnPCOgJCauFpJpFiLNWSAZCYJGkvKtr5YErS/EggtqTJ4tSR8nDJxMaZx2b+lapZsn6ZiGzb863Pi+X6+qc83eXjzy6Q2JorELkhOx/Z7nED/Leq54MH0Rw7N2eNyuVz/tjsziVhAV87dJwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"University of Southampton","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dialechti","middleName":"","lastName":"Tsimpida","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-05-19 15:53:19","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6700543/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6700543/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":83725223,"identity":"8d29ba1a-b281-4834-9e6f-1c739c27ae77","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-01 08:31:38","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":878072,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6700543/v1_covered_7df5e8e8-8c90-4b6f-b967-5cabf5708f18.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Regional Variations in Nature Exposure: Development of a Multidimensional Green-Blue Space (GBS) Index for Mental Health Research and Policy","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Green-blue spaces, Mental health, Geographic Information Systems, Analytic Hierarchy Process, Spatial analysis, Environmental accessibility","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6700543/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6700543/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis paper introduces a novel Multidimensional Green-Blue Space Index (GBSI) to quantify access to natural environments for mental health research and policy applications. 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