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1. Urban Park Usage During the COVID-19 Pandemic

   https://doi.org/10.1142/S2345737621500081  

   Alizadehtazi, Bita; Tangtrakul, Korin; Woerdeman, Sloane; Gussenhoven, Anna; Mostafavi, Nariman; Montalto, Franco A. (December 2020, Journal of Extreme Events)

   null (Ed.)

   Urban parks and green spaces provide a wide range of ecosystem services, including social interaction and stress reduction. When COVID-19 closed schools and businesses and restricted social gatherings, parks became one of the few places that urban residents were permitted to visit outside their homes. With a focus on Philadelphia, PA and New York City, NY, this paper presents a snapshot of the park usage during the early phases of the pandemic. Forty-three Civic Scientists were employed by the research team to observe usage in 22 different parks selected to represent low and high social vulnerability, and low, medium, and high population density. Despite speculation that parks could contribute to the spread of COVID-19, no strong correlation was found between the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in adjacent zip codes and the number of park users. High social vulnerability neighborhoods were associated with a significantly higher number of COVID-19 cases ([Formula: see text]). In addition, no significant difference in the number of park users was detected between parks in high and low vulnerability neighborhoods. The number of park users did significantly increase with population density in both cities ([Formula: see text]), though usage varied greatly by park. Males were more frequently observed than females in parks in both high vulnerability and high-density neighborhoods. Although high vulnerability neighborhoods reported higher COVID-19 cases, residents of Philadelphia and New York City appear to have been undeterred from visiting parks during this phase of the pandemic. This snapshot study provides no evidence to support closing parks during the pandemic. To the contrary, people continued to visit parks throughout the study, underscoring their evident value as respite for urban residents during the early phases of the pandemic. 

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2. Comparison of Antimicrobial-Resistant Escherichia coli Isolates from Urban Raccoons and Domestic Dogs

   https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00484-21  

   Worsley-Tonks, Katherine E.; Gehrt, Stanley D.; Miller, Elizabeth A.; Singer, Randall S.; Bender, Jeff B.; Forester, James D.; McKenzie, Shane C.; Travis, Dominic A.; Johnson, Timothy J.; Craft, Meggan E. (July 2021, Applied and Environmental Microbiology)

   Elkins, Christopher A. (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT Wildlife can be exposed to antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) via multiple pathways. Spatial overlap with domestic animals is a prominent exposure pathway. However, most studies of wildlife-domestic animal interfaces have focused on livestock and little is known about the wildlife-companion animal interface. Here, we investigated the prevalence and phylogenetic relatedness of extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant (ESC-R) Escherichia coli from raccoons ( Procyon lotor ) and domestic dogs ( Canis lupus familiaris ) in the metropolitan area of Chicago, IL, USA. To assess the potential importance of spatial overlap with dogs, we explored whether raccoons sampled at public parks (i.e., parks where people and dogs could enter) differed in prevalence and phylogenetic relatedness of ESC-R E. coli to raccoons sampled at private parks (i.e., parks where people and dogs could not enter). Raccoons had a significantly higher prevalence of ESC-R E. coli (56.9%) than dogs (16.5%). However, the richness of ESC-R E. coli did not vary by host species. Further, core single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based phylogenetic analyses revealed that isolates did not cluster by host species, and in some cases displayed a high degree of similarity (i.e., differed by less than 20 core SNPs). Spatial overlap analyses revealed that ESC-R E. coli were more likely to be isolated from raccoons at public parks than raccoons at private parks, but only for parks located in suburban areas of Chicago, not urban areas. That said, ESC-R E. coli isolated from raccoons did not genetically cluster by park of origin. Our findings suggest that domestic dogs and urban/suburban raccoons can have a diverse range of ARB, some of which display a high degree of genetic relatedness (i.e., differ by less than 20 core SNPs). Given the differences in prevalence, domestic dogs are unlikely to be an important source of exposure for mesocarnivores in urbanized areas. IMPORTANCE Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) have been detected in numerous wildlife species across the globe, which may have important implications for human and animal health. Wildlife can be exposed to ARB via numerous pathways, including via spatial overlap with domestic animals. However, the interface with domestic animals has mostly been explored for livestock and little is known about the interface between wild animals and companion animals. Our work suggests that urban and suburban wildlife can have similar ARB to local domestic dogs, but local dogs are unlikely to be a direct source of exposure for urban-adapted wildlife. This finding is important because it underscores the need to incorporate wildlife into antimicrobial resistance surveillance efforts, and to investigate whether certain urban wildlife species could act as additional epidemiological pathways of exposure for companion animals, and indirectly for humans. 

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3. “Assessment of Public Space Visitors of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in Outdoor Public Space and the development of Countermeasures to Control Aerial Visual Access”

   Nassar, Hala; Hewitt, Robert; Cummings, Mary (January 2020, Landscape research record)

   Use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology is predicted to increase dramatically from more than 600,000 drones registered just with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to nearly 7,000,000 over the next 12 years ( FAA 1,2 ) This popularity is evident in their increasing use in and around public outdoor spaces, including parks, stadiums, outdoor amphitheaters, festival grounds, or outdoor markets. While there is considerable research on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications and navigation (Koh 2012, Nemeth 2010) and an emerging body of work in landscape architecture (Kullmann 2017, Park 2016), there is no research addressing increasing conflicts between public space visitors, drone navigation in public space, and its effect on the planning and design of public space. The paper presents initial findings from funded research to develop landscape architectural design and planning responses supporting low cost detection technology to deter the illegal use of drones in public spaces. Methods of data collection employed surveys of botanical garden visitors concerning their preferences for site landscape features and experiences, their awareness, attitudes, and preferences about the presence of drones in public space, and potential aerial visual access to a range of forested and open landscapes frequented by visitors in the garden. Findings suggest that given public concern about the presence of drones, landscape planning and design of such public spaces should provide continuous landscape features with restricted aerial visual access surrounding and connecting public areas with open aerial visual access. 

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4. Exploring Symbolic Meaning in Landscaping Choices within a Desert City

   https://doi.org/10.18666/JPRA-2021-10643  

   Sampson, Marena; Budruk, Megha; Larson, Kelli (May 2021, Journal of Park and Recreation Administration)

   Metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, in the Sonoran Desert, provides an excellent opportunity to understand residents’ preferences for desert-adapted xeric landscaping. While much is known about the relationships between sociodemographics and broad environmental values on xeric landscaping choices, the influence of other variables remains unexplored, especially interactions with and attachments to the desert. We therefore examined the influences of recreational visits to local desert mountain parks and symbolic meanings associated with the native desert on household xeric landscaping preferences. Within a larger study, select questions captured socio-demographics, visitation to desert parks and open spaces, place identity, and xeric landscape preferences. Using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, we confirmed that homeownership and a shorter residency predicted preference for xeric landscapes. Hispanics were less likely to prefer xeric landscaping. Interestingly, the novel factor of identity with the desert significantly and positively predicted xeric landscaping preference while visitation to desert parks and open spaces did not. Findings provide several important management implications. First, Phoenix has an opportunity to foster connections with the surrounding environment through its extensive desert mountain parks. Increasing connections between residents and the parks may help shift personal preferences to xeric yard types. Park managers might also work to further stress how household decisions can affect the desert environment. Second, park visitation alone may not suffice to create connections with the desert environment. Instead, park managers should focus on creating opportunities for visitors to recognize the unique, living aspects of the parks and build personal relationships with the ecosystem. Interpretation encouraging emotional connections to the desert environment may aid in fostering an identity with the desert. In addition, messaging and signage campaigns that link people to the parks may prove a novel way of combatting lawn water usage within desert cities. Given their opportunities to foster place identity, urban parks may be important influencers in promoting native plant landscaping. In conclusion, connecting people to their surrounding environments can influence preferences for similar landscape types at the household level. 

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5. Developing Connectedness to Nature in Urban Outdoor Settings: A Potential Pathway Through Awe, Solitude, and Leisure

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.940939  

   Mateer, Timothy J. (July 2022, Frontiers in Psychology)

   Outdoor leisure experiences may represent an understudied yet effective pathway to promote connectedness to nature for urban park visitors. In contrast to outdoor recreation, this critical essay argues outdoor leisure more heavily emphasizes eudaimonic sentiments and intrinsic motivation in comparison with the goal-oriented and hedonic nature of outdoor recreation. It is further argued that two specific social psychological constructs, awe and solitude, may be especially useful in promoting leisure experiences in urban outdoor spaces. Relevant philosophical and social psychological literature is reviewed and synthesized to outline how land managers and environmental educators may facilitate experiences of awe and solitude to better promote contexts for experiencing outdoor leisure in urban parks. Specifically, reviewed literature suggests that utilizing the recreation opportunity spectrum framework and co-creative processes may be an effective path forward in better supporting urban park environments that are conducive to awe, solitude, and leisure. The review and synthesis of this research may ultimately guide environmental educators, land managers, and researchers in ways to more effectively support connectedness to nature via outdoor leisure experiences as an outcome for visitors to outdoor urban spaces. 

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