Correlation Between Access to Nature and Psychological Resilience in Everyday Activity Spaces in Nairobi CBD

Abstract

The settings approach to health posits that spaces where people live, work, find leisure, and move between destinations influence health outcomes. While residential settings dominate the literature, interstitial spaces remain underexplored. This study explores Nairobi CBD as an activity space and examines how exposure to access-to-nature constructs correlates with psychological resilience, operationalised through flourishing and sense of coherence (SOC). Using 1,407 valid responses, exposure was established from places respondents frequently visited or deliberately avoided and mapped using QGIS. Exploratory factor analysis identified two constructs: open spaces and street trees. PLS-SEM examined linear correlations, while generalised additive models explored non-linearity. Explained variance peaked at the 24m buffer. Open spaces negatively correlated with SOC and positively with flourishing, while street trees positively correlated with SOC. Moderation and mediation correlations suggested that trajectories emerged from users’ exposure, socioeconomic status and perception. SOC mediated relationships between the constructs and flourishing, highlighting interstitial spaces as significant correlates of psychological resilience.