Dog parks represent a recent trend in western countries, enabling owners to spend quality time with their pets in a controlled environment. Despite their growing popularity, few studies have been performed to date on these parks to investigate dog intestinal parasitic infections and soil contamination. The present study examined 369 faecal and 18 soil samples collected from 3 dog parks in Great...

background: bromeliads can be epiphytic, terrestrial or saxicolous and use strategies to allow water to be re­tained in their leaf axils, where various arthropods can be found. these include mosquitoes, whose larvae are the most abundant and commonly found organisms in the leaf axils. the objective of this study was to look for im­mature forms of mosquitoes (the larval and pupal stages) in brom...

Urban green spaces provide a context where constant association with these spaces can result in reducing the incidence or diminishing the effect of many diseases. Different studies assessed the relationship between using urban green spaces and health benefits considering influential quantitative aspects. This research tries to look differently at this issue by connecting the urban green spaces ...

BACKGROUND Previous studies indicate that the design of streets and sidewalks can influence physical activity among residents. Park features also influence park use and park-based physical activity. Although individuals can walk on streets and sidewalks, walking loops in parks offer a setting to walk in nature and to avoid interruptions from traffic. OBJECTIVES Here we describe the use of wal...

This paper examined how gender and ethnicity are related to preferences for various park characteristics, visitation to urban parks and open spaces, and perception of park benefits as reported by participants in a mail survey of residents in two metropolitan areas in the eastern United States. In total, 1570 questionnaires were completed, but 65 cases were deleted because they failed to identif...

As the ecology of Lake Shihwa has been restored significantly nowadays, the urban development is in progress around Lake Shihwa areas. Each development project includes a plan on utilizing waterfront areas, but there exist a difference on waterfront design criteria between experts and users. Therefore, it is significant to analyze preferences in design elements of existing waterfront parks arou...

Urban nature in all its forms—urban forests, parks, greenbelts—provides a range of benefits and services to society, most of which are not readily bought and sold. Economists calculate the “use value” of nature and ecosystems when tangible goods can be exchanged at market prices, such as timber or fisheries products. “Non-use values” set up a more complex economic puzzle. How can we estimate va...

The majority of the world’s population now lives in cities (United Nations, 2008) resulting in an urban densification requiring people to live in closer proximity and share urban infrastructure such as streets, public transport, and parks within cities. However, “physical closeness does not mean social closeness” (Wellman, 2001, p. 234). Whereas it is a common practice to greet and chat with pe...