Over the past few decades, there has been a growing interest in the powerful relationship between accessible greenspace and human health. This relationship is especially important for two populations – those living in urban areas, who tend to have less access to greenspace, and older adults, whose movement may be limited to their immediate environments. Both these populations are growing at unprecedented rates. Therefore, it is more important than ever to explore how investments into urban greenspaces can influence the health and physical activity of older adults in urban areas. One such investment is the Schuylkill River Park, which converted the underutilized area next to the Schuylkill River in Center City Philadelphia into a riverfront park, featuring an 8-mile riverfront trail, scenic views, and lots of easily accessible greenspace.

This study uses 16 semi-structured interviews with residents of the 19103 zip code in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to qualitatively assess how the development of the Schuylkill River from 1998-2006 influenced their mental health, social health, exercise habits, and ability to maintain a healthy lifestyle while aging. As participants were required to have lived in the zip code since 1997, most interviewees were in their sixties and early seventies. Grounded theory analysis was used to identify key themes in the data. The study found that the river encouraged participants to exercise more, resulted in more enriching physical activity, and allowed residents to participate in various types of physical activity over time. While most residents did not notice a significant shift in their mental or social health, many did receive benefits from the development, such as increased neighborhood attachment, increased social interactions, and restorative benefits related to the water. Almost all participants believed that the development of the river played a role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle while aging, but a few interviewees felt the overcrowding of the trail posed health risks and made it much less enjoyable to use.

This study supports previous research in this field by highlighting the diverse ways greenspaces can lead to mental and physical benefits, while, to the researcher’s knowledge, providing the first research on the health impacts of such an urban river restoration project. The results also emphasized the importance of wider paths and speed limits when making spaces accessible for older adults. As city-dwelling older adults continue to rise in numbers, these results will be extremely important to city planners when designing urban environments conducive to maintaining a healthy lifestyle long into old age.