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Impact of ecological park restoration on health in low income neighborhoods: A natural experiment

Award Number: R01CA239187
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2019
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2025

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Impact of ecological park restoration on health in low income neighborhoods: A natural experiment - Summary Individuals living in socioeconomically deprived inner cities have disproportionately high rates of cardiovascular disease, cancers, Type 2 diabetes and obesity, which have stress- and physical activity-related etiologies. Previous research on the urban built environment suggests that parks may reduce stress and increase physical activity. Yet, the causal health relationships have been difficult to establish due to reliance on cross-sectional designs, coarse exposure assessment, limited health effects data and neglect of negative aspects of green space (e.g., litter, noise). This study will capitalize on an upcoming natural experiment in five low-income neighborhoods in Detroit, MI involving the ecological restoration of unmaintained parks to grassland meadows. Five control park neighborhoods were matched on demographic and built characteristics. This longitudinal study will include participants (n=590 after attrition) from ten intervention/control park neighborhoods with baseline measurement then annual measurement for three years post- restoration. Our study will be the first natural experiment to examine the impact of ecological restoration with individual-level measurement of visual/auditory exposure (e.g., greenery, birdsong) to green space on health. We will go beyond the usual objective measure of physical activity (GPS/accelerometer) in park studies to include a validated stress biomarker (salivary cortisol) and cardio-metabolic indicators (BMI, blood pressure, hip-to-waist ratio, C-reactive protein and A1C). The question to be answered is: Does ecological restoration of abandoned parks into grassland meadows and bird habitats increase nearby resident’s physical activity, lower their stress, and improve their cardio-metabolic health? We propose three aims. Aim 1: Establish the effect of ecological restoration of parks on physical activity from baseline through 3-years post-restoration, using a non-randomized design. Aim 2: Illuminate the stress reduction potential of restored parks. Aim 3: Evaluate the effect of ecological restoration on downstream cardio-metabolic health outcomes. Understanding the role of ecological restoration on health will provide the unique opportunity to inform replication, scalability and generalizability for cities managing park resources in low-income neighborhoods. Our findings will be vital in the development of policies needed to mitigate pervasive socioeconomic disparities in obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardio-metabolic health.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2026	2023	MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY	426 AUDITORIUM RD RM 360	EAST LANSING	MI	48824	INGHAM	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	000	5	12/8/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $567,618 )
2023	2023	MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY	426 AUDITORIUM RD RM 2	EAST LANSING	MI	48824	INGHAM	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	000	5	7/24/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$567,618
														Subtotal = $567,618

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $609,945 )
2022	2022	MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY	426 AUDITORIUM RD RM 2	EAST LANSING	MI	48824	INGHAM	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	000	4	8/3/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$609,945
														Subtotal = $609,945

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $622,294 )
2021	2021	MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY	426 AUDITORIUM RD RM 2	EAST LANSING	MI	48824	INGHAM	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	002	3	8/25/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$622,294
2021	2020	MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY	426 AUDITORIUM RD RM 2	EAST LANSING	MI	48824	INGHAM	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	000	2	2/17/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2021	2020	MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY	426 AUDITORIUM RD RM 2	EAST LANSING	MI	48824	INGHAM	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	001	2	8/3/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $622,294

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $638,556 )
2020	2020	MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY	426 AUDITORIUM RD RM 2	EAST LANSING	MI	48824	INGHAM	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	000	2	7/30/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$638,556
														Subtotal = $638,556

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $636,112 )
2019	2019	MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY	426 AUDITORIUM RD RM 2	EAST LANSING	MI	48824	INGHAM	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	000	1	7/19/2019	NEW	$689,296
2019	2019	MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY	426 AUDITORIUM RD RM 2	EAST LANSING	MI	48824	INGHAM	USA	Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research	001	1	8/16/2019	NEW	-$53,184
														Subtotal = $636,112

Grand Total All Awards = $3,074,525

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Impact of ecological park restoration on health in low income neighborhoods: A natural experiment

Award Number: R01CA239187

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2019

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2025

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