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The term ‘left behind’ has come to connote political disaffection, alongside social and spatial inequalities in wealth and opportunity. Yet the term is also widely contested, often prioritising a regional and economic perspective at the expense of a more local and nuanced approach. In response, we argue that neighbourhood context is integral to understanding and identifying ‘left behind’ places. Building a neighbourhood classification of ‘left behindness’ for England, we evaluate the extent to which the neighbourhood trajectory contributes to our understanding of a range of multidimensional individual‐level outcomes. Our findings reveal a geography of neighbourhoods that are systematically disadvantaged over time, concentrated in major urban conurbations, and post‐industrial and coastal towns. The magnitude and impact is highlighted through poorer economic, health, social and political outcomes for those living in ‘left behind’ areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How academic disciplines are represented and reproduced is a charged issue. In geography in particular, the challenge is not only who counts, especially with regard to gender and other factors, but also how the boundaries of the discipline are drawn and which subfields are acknowledged. This article contributes to both aspects of the discussion by extending recent research on gender, internationalization, and academic gatekeeping to additional subfields of human geography. In particular, we focus on the demographic structure and international diversity of the editorial teams of flagship quantitative geography journals. We find that women are underrepresented in our sample, with shares ranging from 23.1 to 43.5 percent—numbers unfortunately comparable to many other geography journals. We also find that career stage is an important factor and that our sample is more international and less Anglophone than the disciplinary norm. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of attending to issues of inclusive gatekeeping in geography and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The view that interacting with nature enhances mental wellbeing is commonplace, despite a dearth of evidence or even agreed definitions of ‘nature’. The aim of this review was to systematically appraise the evidence for associations between greenspace and mental wellbeing, stratified by the different ways in which greenspace has been conceptualised in quantitative research. Methods: We undertook a comprehensive database search and thorough screening of articles which included a measure of greenspace and validated mental wellbeing tool, to capture aspects of hedonic and/or eudaimonic wellbeing. Quality and risk of bias in research were assessed to create grades of evidence. We undertook detailed narrative synthesis of the 50 studies which met the review inclusion criteria, as methodological heterogeneity precluded meta-analysis. Results: Results of a quality assessment and narrative synthesis suggest associations between different greenspace characteristics and mental wellbeing. We identified six ways in which greenspace was conceptualised and measured: (i) amount of local-area greenspace; (ii) greenspace type; (iii) visits to greenspace; (iv) views of greenspace; (v) greenspace accessibility; and (vi) self-reported connection to nature. There was adequate evidence for associations between the amount of local-area greenspace and life satisfaction (hedonic wellbeing), but not personal flourishing (eudaimonic wellbeing). Evidence for associations between mental wellbeing and visits to greenspace, accessibility, and types of greenspace was limited. There was inadequate evidence for associations with views of greenspace and connectedness to nature. Several studies reported variation in associations between greenspace and wellbeing by life course stage, gender, levels of physically activity or attitudes to nature. Conclusions: Greenspace has positive associations with mental wellbeing (particularly hedonic wellbeing), but the evidence is not currently sufficient or specific enough to guide planning decisions. Further studies are needed, based on dynamic measures of greenspace, reflecting access and uses of greenspace, and measures of both eudaimonic and hedonic mental wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With urbanisation increasing, it is important to understand how to design changing environments to promote mental wellbeing. Evidence suggests that local-area proportions of green space may be associated with happiness and life satisfaction; however, the available evidence on such associations with more broadly defined mental wellbeing in still very scarce. This study aimed to establish whether the amount of neighbourhood green space was associated with mental wellbeing.Methods: Data were drawn from Understanding Society, a national survey of 30,900 individuals across 11,096 Census Lower-Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in England, over the period 2009-2010. Measures included the multi-dimensional Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS) and LSOA proportion of green space, which was derived from the General Land Use Database (GLUD), and were analysed using linear regression, while controlling for individual, household and area-level factors.Results: Those living in areas with greater proportions of green space had significantly higher mental wellbeing scores in unadjusted analyses (an expected increase of 0.17 points (95% CI 0.11, 0.23) in the SWEMWBS score for a standard deviation increase of green space). However, after adjustment for confounding by respondent sociodemographic characteristics and urban/rural location, the association was attenuated to the null (regression coefficient B = - 0.01, 95% CI -0.08, 0.05, p = 0.712).Conclusions: While the green space in an individual's local area has been shown through other research to be related to aspects of mental health such as happiness and life satisfaction, the association with multidimensional mental wellbeing is much less clear from our results. While we did not find a statistically significant association between the amount of green space in residents' local areas and mental wellbeing, further research is needed to understand whether other features of green space, such as accessibility, aesthetics or use, are important for mental wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While local-area greenspace is associated with reduced symptoms of mental distress and greater life satisfaction, most previous research has measured the amount of local-area greenspace within administrative boundaries, and found mixed results for associations between greenspace and multidimensional mental wellbeing. The study was designed to examine whether the amount of greenspace within a radius of individuals' homes was associated with mental wellbeing, testing the government guideline that greenspace should be available within 300 m of homes. Individual and Household-level data were drawn from the Annual Population Survey at postcode level (APS, Pooled Dataset 2012–2015), which includes 3 mental wellbeing measures, covering aspects of life satisfaction, sense of worth, and happiness, as well as a range of socio-demographic variables. Greenspace data were obtained Greenspace Information for Greater London Group (GiGL), and was used to calculated the amount of greenspace within a 300 m radius of individuals. Linear regression models revealed positive and statistically significant associations between the amount of greenspace and indicators of life satisfaction and worth. Moran's I , an indicator of spatial autocorrelation, revealed statistically significant clustering of the residuals of these models, so Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) models were calculated, in order to adjust for underlying spatial processes within the data and investigate the geographic variation in the association between local greenspace and mental wellbeing. The global GWR model revealed that an increase in 1 ha of greenspace within 300 m of residents was associated with a statistically significant 0.803 increase in life satisfaction, 0.740 and 0.521 for worth and happiness, respectively. This therefore provides some support for the inclusion of greenspace within 300 m of homes. Local GWR coefficients revealed slight variation in the strength of these associations across the study space. Therefore, further analyses are required to investigate whether the walking (network distance), absolute size, or type of each greenspace are able to explain this spatial variation. • Associations between local-area greenspace and mental wellbeing are mixed. • UK Government recommends greenspace within 300 m of individuals. • Greenspace within buffers of individuals was calculated. • Greenspace within 300 m associated with improved mental wellbeing. • This association varies spatially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early career researchers (ECRs) encounter distinctive opportunities (and challenges) within the neoliberal academy. In this commentary, we reflect on issues common to ECR experiences in quantitative human geography. Our discussion is inspired by and develops conversations from a panel at the Royal Geographical Society‐Institute of British Geographers (RGS‐IBG) postgraduate forum, with panellists from across the subfield. While many aspects of the ECR experience transcend sub‐disciplinary boundaries, the quantitative subfield presents unique dynamics for ECRs to navigate. ECRs in quantitative geography are steeped in 'data science', which changes relations between academia and industry, with the growth of our field increasing the size and the scope of what ECRs might be expected to know and do. Bringing together reflections from the panel, we highlight the variation in pathways experienced by ECRs, reflecting on opportunities, uncertainties, and mentorship, in the hope of offering insights and advice for prospective and current ECRs and their mentors. This commentary reflects on the perspectives and experiences of early career quantitative human geographers, placing significant emphasis on opportunities, uncertainty, and mentorship, and the overall diversity of pathways available to other early career quantitative human geographers. This commentary reflects on the perspectives and experiences of early career quantitative human geographers, placing significant emphasis on opportunities, uncertainty and mentorship, and the overall diversity of pathways available to other early career quantitative human geographers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study highlights the complicated interactions between multimorbidity, functional ability and the environment. • For the very old living with multimorbidity, proximity to local grocery shops supports their ability to do grocery shopping. • Proximity to local grocery shops is less important for the healthy very old living with none or one chronic condition. • Future research should investigate how to support older people with poor health to overcome barriers to access local shops. The very old, people aged ≥85, is a fast-growing age group with high risk of disability and dependence. To identify environmental factors that support maintenance of functional ability, the aim of this study is to investigate the longitudinal associations between proximity to local grocery shops and the ability to shop for groceries in the very old and to examine the potential variation between those living with and without multimorbidity. This study was based on the Newcastle 85+ study, a population-based cohort of people aged 85 in North-East England. The numbers of grocery shops were identified within a 500 m road distance to participants' residence. Multilevel Poisson regression modelling was used to investigate whether proximity to local grocery shops was associated with the ability to do grocery shopping over five years in those with and without multimorbidity adjusting for sociodemographic factors and area deprivation. The very old who lived in more deprived areas were more likely to have a grocery shop within 500 m than those in less deprived areas. Proximity to local grocery shops was not associated with the ability to do grocery shopping in the participants who had none or one chronic condition (IRR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.89, 1.12) but moderated loss of the ability in those living with multimorbidity (IRR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.70, 0.96). For the very old living with multimorbidity, proximity to local grocery shops may support their functional ability. Future research should investigate how to support older people with poor health to access local grocery shops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volunteered Geographical Information (VGI) and social media can provide information about real-time perceptions, attitudes and behaviours in urban green space (UGS). This paper reviews the use of VGI and social media data in research examining UGS. The current state of the art is described through the analysis of 177 papers to (1) summarise the characteristics and usage of data from different platforms, (2) provide an overview of the research topics using such data sources, and (3) characterise the research approaches based on data pre-processing, data quality assessment and improvement, data analysis and modelling. A number of important limitations and priorities for future research are identified. The limitations include issues of data acquisition and representativeness, data quality, as well as differences across social media platforms in different study areas such as urban and rural areas. The research priorities include a focus on investigating factors related to physical activities in UGS areas, urban park use and accessibility, the use of data from multiple sources and, where appropriate, making more effective use of personal information. In addition, analysis approaches can be extended to examine the network suggested by social media posts that are shared, re-posted or reacted to and by being combined with textual, image and geographical data to extract more representative information for UGS analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]