Coping with poverty: impacts of environment and attention in the inner city

In 145 urban public housing residents randomly assigned to buildings with and without nearby nature, attentional functioning and effectiveness in managing major life issues were compared. Residents living in buildings without nearby trees and grass reported more procrastination in facing their major issues and assessed their issues as more severe, less soluble and more long-standing than did their counterparts living in greener surroundings. Mediation tests and extensive tests for possible confounds supported the attention restoration hypothesis--that green space enhances residents' effectiveness by reducing mental fatigue. These findings suggest that urban public housing environments could be configured to enhance residents' psychological resources for coping with poverty. [UMN]

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