US EPA

6330410 

Journal Article 

Blue space geographies: Enabling health in place 

Foley, R; Kistemann, T 

2015 

Yes 

Health & Place
ISSN: 1353-8292
EISSN: 1873-2054 

35 

157-165 

English 

26238330 

10.1016/j.healthplace.2015.07.003 

WOS:000365237600020 

Drawing from research on therapeutic landscapes and relationships between environment, health and wellbeing, we propose the idea of 'healthy blue space' as an important new development Complementing research on healthy green space, blue space is defined as; 'health-enabling places and spaces, where water is at the centre of a range of environments with identifiable potential for the promotion of human wellbeing'. Using theoretical ideas from emotional and relational geographies and critical understandings of salutogenesis, the value of blue space to health and wellbeing is recognised and evaluated. Six individual papers from five different countries consider how health can be enabled in mixed blue space settings. Four sub-themes; embodiment, inter-subjectivity, activity and meaning, document multiple experiences within a range of healthy blue spaces. Finally, we suggest a considerable research agenda - theoretical, methodological and applied - for future work within different forms of blue space. All are suggested as having public health policy relevance in social and public space.