The Relationship between Ecosystem Services, Human Health and Well-being and its Implication for Environmental Planning: An Agent-Based Model and Geosimulation

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dc.contributor.advisorBunch, Martin
dc.contributor.authorTsourounis, George
dc.date.accessioned2021-11-09T14:54:25Z
dc.date.available2021-11-09T14:54:25Z
dc.date.issued2021-08
dc.description.abstractA tremendous number of studies have examined the relationship between ecosystem health and human health and well-being, especially in urban settings. The project builds upon a nation-wide Canadian study by Crouse et al. (2017) which explored the correlations between urban greenness and cause-specific mortalities using Cox proportional hazard ratios. Crouse et al. (2017) concluded that increased urban greenness in proximity to participants’ residences is associated with decreases in the risks of cause-specific mortalities. The goal of this project is to develop an agent-based model using NetLogo to explore the relationship between ecosystem services, human health and well-being in the Credit River Watershed (CRW). The model utilizes a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to establish values of urban greenness in the CRW. Then, hazard ratios are calculated from these NDVI values based on the association observed in the Crouse et al. (2017) study. The model uses a tree-planting, or greening, agent that changes the values of greenness in the study area, thus decreasing hazard ratios. The greening agent is counteracted by a developer agent which converts land adjacent to residential areas into new development. Consequently, this action decreases greenness and increases hazard ratios. This interaction occurs overtime and the results are shown through geosimulation. The model also provides a set of user-defined parameters that modify the nature of agent interactions and the underlying rules governing the model. Overall, the model serves as an educational and decision-support tool for stakeholders in the CRW, including residents, municipal planners, conservation authorities, and policy makers.en_US
dc.identifierMESMP03660
dc.identifier.citationMajor Paper Master of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/38623
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectEcosystem servicesen_US
dc.subjectEnvironmental planningen_US
dc.subjectEcological economicsen_US
dc.subjectEconomic valuationen_US
dc.subjectTrade-off analysisen_US
dc.subjectGreen infrastructureen_US
dc.subjectEnvironmental assessmenten_US
dc.subjectLand useen_US
dc.subjectNatural capitalen_US
dc.subjectParticipatory processen_US
dc.titleThe Relationship between Ecosystem Services, Human Health and Well-being and its Implication for Environmental Planning: An Agent-Based Model and Geosimulationen_US
dc.typeMajor paperen_US

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