Greenness Exposure Assessment Methods

The importance of greenspace for human health is demonstrated by a large, rapidly growing literature base. As with any environmental exposure, researchers have used many ways to define greenspace and estimate exposure. This chapter comprehensively reviews the various measures and attributes of greenspace. It begins with an exploration of greenspace definitions and continues with an overview of greenspace indicators. These indicators or measures span subjective and objective measures of greenspace availability, accessibility, and visibility. We describe various geographic containers for greenspace exposure evaluation and the datasets and calculations, such as the normalized difference vegetation index, to quantify exposure. The reviewed measures have universal application across jurisdictions, including China. We conclude with suggestions for future direction of greenspace measurement research.