Tower Hamlets - Health and Greenspaces

It is widely agreed upon that access to nature and green spaces can impact our physical and mental wellbeing (Mind, 2021). But is this true for Tower Hamlets? In this StoryMap, I will investigate the relationship between greenspaces and the health of the residents of Tower Hamlets. In doing so, it will demonstrate whether they really have as much of an effect on our health as we think, and what other causes may be the case instead.

To investigate this question, I will be taking a mixed methods approach. A mixed methods approach involves combining multiple methods of analysis in order to carry out research. In this case, GIS, qualitative and quantitative analysis will be combined to answer my research question. While Elwood (2010) identifies that mixed methods may be 'problematic because these data lend themselves to divergent forms of representation, analysis, and communication' (p.10), she then details its benefits, explaining that while one method can share one perspective, using multiple methods provides a more detailed perspective and unlocks more potential to 'allow additional and sometimes different stories to emerge' (p.11).

Firstly, GIS methods will enable a visual analysis of access to greenspaces against Census 2021 health data. Then, qualitative methods in the form of a discourse analysis will investigate the approach that Tower Hamlets takes towards making greenspaces accessible. Finally, I will be using quantitative analysis in the form of descriptive and inferential statistics, which will demonstrate other causes that may influence health in Tower Hamlets.

GIS, or Geographical Information Systems, refers to 'a specialised computer database program designed for the collection, storage, manipulation, retrieval, and analysis of spatial data.' (Steinberg, 2015: p.4) Spatial data essentially means information that is associated with a 'specific location, such as a street address.' (p.5) By using this data, it is possible to get a better understanding, 'draw parallels, and see connections' (p.4) between variables. A common example of GIS is in the use of technologies like the Global Positioning System (GPS) - an effective web-mapping tool used to help us get accurate directions to wherever we want to go.

According to Barton and Rogerson (2017), greenspaces are a useful tool to combatting physical and mental health issues among all ages. To name a few:

• Improved fitness and mobility
• Better sleeping and eating habits
• Improvements in social skills and a sense of belonging

Therefore, one can assume that it is likely that engaging with greenspaces can have a positive influence on both physical and mental wellbeing. However, this is not apparent in the case of Tower Hamlets:

Overall, it is clear from the data that greenspaces and access to them have not had an effect on the health of residents in Tower Hamlets. This brings forth the question of what other influences may be at play that actually have affected health statistics. In the Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Strategy (2020), a ‘lack of greenspaces’ is mentioned but other causes like rising ‘poverty’, ‘homelessness’ and a ‘lack of access to affordable healthy food’ (p.7) have also been highlighted as significant reasons for poor health. Therefore, while my maps show that there is no significant impact of access to greenspaces on health, what may really be the case is that there are a multitude of factors at play, in addition to the impact of greenspaces, as it is clearly not the sole cause of poor health in Tower Hamlets.

Qualitative research refers to the analysis of 'non-numerical data' (Cope and Hay, 2021: p.4), for providing 'contextual and personal explanations for trends identified in quantitative studies' (p.4). Put simply, it dives deeper into the person behind the statistic, bringing them to life to gain a better understanding of the ways we work, and our interactions with the world (p.4-5). In this StoryMap, discourse analysis will be used to gain further insight into the relation between greenspaces and health in Tower Hamlets. Discourse analysis uses documents to understand a 'societal problem better through a focus on language use' (Hastings, 2020: p.87). Essentially, it involves investigating underlying motives or attitudes within a text or source.

Within the three documents analysed is a general sense of community and inclusion from the council, with straightforwardness and honesty inducing a feeling of trust, despite their claims of extensive challenges towards improvement.

The first document is the Tower Hamlets 2022 public health report (Source A), specifically key messages for different age groups towards the end.

The discourse shows that Tower Hamlets emphasises using GP and NHS services when treating health and lacks mention of greenspaces or any explicit suggestions of things we can do personally, other than being active or socialising. Furthermore, the document lacks connection with the reader, as there is repetition in each section, like the bullet point on 'five ways to wellbeing', suggesting a lack of interest in the matter.

The second and third documents are about the Tower Hamlets Open Space Strategy, their 2006-2016 mid-point review and their consequent 2017-2027 update (Source C).

It is clear that there has been a shift in focus over time. For example, while Source B does express concerns over the achievability of their aims, it maintains optimism and the feel of an inclusive relationship with the author, through the mention of ethnic groups and young people and their need for greenspaces. However, despite Source C having better structure and layout (better for public viewing), it feels as though the challenges are over-emphasised, presenting a pessimistic view from the council and thus decreasing the reader's trust in them as a result.

Overall, sources B and C suggest a direct influence of greenspaces on physical and mental health, but due to external challenges, particularly Tower Hamlets' rapidly growing population and therefore housing crisis and poverty, implementation of better access and use of greenspaces has been limited, supporting my research in GIS that greenspaces have not had an impact on health. What is commendable from the council is a desire to regularly update these strategies, as Source B is a 'mid-point update', but what is missing from the recent one is a wider perspective, as it lacks acknowledgement of aspects like 'biodiversity and sustainability', 'ethnic groups' and 'young people' which the previous document does acknowledge.

Nonetheless, regarding greenspaces, the two documents highlight benefits to tourism, ethnic groups, physical and mental wellbeing with confidence, implying that it is taken into consideration as a key factor for improving health.

Quantitative research, on the other hand, ‘deals with data that are numerical or that can be converted into numbers’ (Sheard, 2018). Essentially, quantitative research uses statistical tests to analyse information in datasets. There are two types of statistics, descriptive and inferential. According to Acevedo (2012), descriptive statistics aim to ‘characterize the data’ in order to see ‘what the data will look like’ (p. 7). Examples include scatter graphs and histograms, displaying visual representations of the data given. Furthermore, there are also inferential statistics, which then aim to answer more ‘specific questions’ (p.7) about the data, like whether it is statistically significant or ‘Is a sample drawn from a normal distribution?’ (p.7).

For my analysis, I used the same Census 2021 'general health' data from the GIS section, as well as Census data relating to household deprivation in the same year. This allowed me to acquire data at a ward level in Tower Hamlets, so I could be more detailed in my research. I wanted to investigate a correlation between the two, knowing that my previous investigations have shown that greenspaces haven’t had much of an effect on bad health, while the council have identified that there are a multitude of other reasons causing bad health (Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Strategy, 2020). Looking at the relationship between the level of household deprivation and health may be useful in helping me understand this.

To do so, I started by using descriptive statistics on this data, in the form of a scatter graph, to understand visually how my data might be correlated.

From this, a somewhat positive correlation can be seen but we cannot be sure of this until we do further analysis. Therefore, I conducted the Shapiro-Wilk Test for normality in order to be able to know which type of inferential test to carry out.

Both of my datasets came out to be normally distributed, therefore, I was able to carry out a Pearsons’ r test to test for correlation as my data is parametric as it is also interval data, meeting the assumptions required to carry out a parametric test.

Upon conducting a Pearson’s test, results show that the correlation coefficient was 0.629816.

To understand the correlation:

• Numbers closer to 1 are positively correlated

• Numbers closer to -1 are negatively correlated

• And numbers closer to or at 0 have no correlation

Therefore, the relationship between household deprivation and bad health is a positive correlation – as household deprivation increases, bad health also increases.

Overall, this analysis goes to show that the impact of greenspaces alone is not sufficient to affect health very much, unless coinciding with the criteria that represent household deprivation – education, employment, and housing, with health also included. It can be concluded from this statistical analysis that the impacts of poor education, employment and housing have negative effects on health.

In conclusion, my research shows that greenspaces, while beneficial for our health, do not have as significant of an impact, in comparison to other causes/factors relating to health and wellbeing. The Tower Hamlets council have consistently emphasised the importance of these greenspaces and their aims to get more of them in the borough, but this has proved difficult due to external circumstances, like the ongoing housing crisis. Thus, a much more significant influence on the declining health of Tower Hamlets residents is household deprivation, reflecting the issues that the council have highlighted (Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Strategy, 2020).

There is opportunity for further research here. In future, it may be useful to investigate the impact of greenspaces across London through the use of GIS methods, as this will allow for better comparison to understand if health is affected by greenspaces, or lack thereof. Furthermore, additional qualitative research on the impact of greenspaces, such as interviews or questionnaires for those that live or study in the borough. This will provide a more personal perspective to support or contradict what was mentioned in the council documents that I analysed. Finally, for my quantitative analysis, it may be useful to include more than just household deprivation in my comparison against bad health, to identify which causes have a stronger impact, which would then provide a clear conclusion that the council could then focus on improving over the next few years.

Acevedo, M. F. (2012), ‘Data Analysis and Statistics for Geography, Environmental Science, and Engineering’ United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis Group pp. 3-28

Barton, J., Rogerson, M. (2017), ‘The importance of greenspace for mental health’ BJPsych International, v.14 (4), pp.79-81

Cope, M., Hay, I. (2021), ‘Where Are We Now? Qualitative Research in Human Geography’, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 3-17

Elwood, S. (2010) ‘Mixed Methods: Thinking, Doing and Asking in Multiple Ways’, in DeLyser, D., Herbert, S., Aitken, S., Crang, M., & McDowell, L., The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Geography, London: Sage Publications, pp. 1-30. DOI:  https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857021090 

Hastings, A., Ward, K. (2020), ‘Researching the city; a guide for students (Discourse and Linguistics Analysis), London: Sage Publications pp. 85-98

Mind, 2021 ‘Nature and Mental Health’, Available at:  https://www.mind.org.uk/media/9648/nature-and-mental-health-2021-pdf-for-download-pdf-version.pdf  (Accessed: 11/03/2024)

Sheard, J. (2018), ‘Quantitative Data Analysis’ in Williamson, K., Johanson, G., Research Methods: Information, Systems, and Contexts, United Kingdom: Chandos Publishing pp. 429-452

Steinberg, S. L., Steinberg, S. J. (2015), ‘GIS Research Methods: Incorporating Spatial Perspectives’, California: Esri Press

Tower Hamlets Council (2020), ‘Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Strategy’, Available at:  https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/Documents/Public-Health/Health_Wellbeing_Strategy.pdf  (Accessed: 20/04/24)