Factors influencing nature interactions vary between cities and types of nature interactions

1. There is mounting concern that people living more urbanised, modern
lifestyles have fewer and lower quality interactions with nature, and
therefore have limited access to the associated health and wellbeing
benefits. Yet, variation in the different types of nature interactions and
the factors that influence these interactions across populations are
poorly understood. 2. We compared four types of nature interactions by
administering surveys across two cities that differ markedly in
urbanisation pattern and population density—Singapore and Brisbane—: (i)
indirect (viewing nature through a window at work or at home); (ii)
incidental (spending time in nature as part of work); (iii) intentional
interactions in gardens; and (iv) intentional interactions in public urban
greenspaces. 3. Our results show that Singapore respondents spent about
half as much time (25.8 hours per week) interacting with nature as
Brisbane respondents (52.3 hours per week), and indirect interactions were
the most prevalent across both cities. 4. Nature orientation, age, income
and gender significantly predicted the duration of nature interactions in
both cities, while self-reported health, education and ethnicity
additionally predicted duration of nature interactions only for Brisbane.
Also, the relationship(s) between each factor and duration could differ in
direction and effect size between types of nature interactions. 5. As
such, we conclude that there is much local variation in the dynamics of
interactions between people and nature, and that focused studies are
needed to develop effective interventions addressing declines in nature
interactions in different locations.