Abstract
Urban greenness has been recognized as a potential correlator of loneliness, yet evidence from rapidly urbanizing and aging contexts remains limited. Using a longitudinal panel design based on three waves (2011, 2013, and 2015) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), this study examined the association between city-level greenness cover ratio and loneliness among Chinese older adults (aged ≥ 60 years, N = 11,718). We assessed social activity participation as a mediator and PM₂.₅ as a moderator. In unadjusted random-effects models, one standard-deviation increase in green cover ratio was associated with a 0.052-unit decrease in loneliness (β = −0.052; 95% CI: (−0.073, −0.031); P < 0.001). After adjustment for sociodemographic, health, and city-level covariates, the inverse association remained statistically significant (β ranges from −0.023 to −0.020; all P < 0.05). Mediation analyses suggested that social activity participation contributed only a very small indirect component to the greenness–loneliness association (approximately 2% under lower PM2.5 conditions), while the indirect pathway becoming weaker and imprecise at higher pollution levels. In subgroup analyses, inverse associations between green cover ratio and loneliness were more consistently observed in some age and health subgroups. These findings provide modest associative evidence that urban vegetation, air quality, and social activity participation are linked with loneliness among older adults.
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Data availability
The CHARLS data is scheduled to be released within two years after the fieldwork is completed. There have been five waves since 2011. The public release files will be available for download from the official website upon application: (https://charls.pku.edu.cn/en/). All the scripts utilized for conducting the analysis can be obtained from the authors upon request.
Code availability
All the scripts utilized for conducting the analysis can be obtained from the authors upon request.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 42201203 and 42571247) and the GDAS Project of Science and Technology Development (No. 2023GDASZH-2023010101). The authors gratefully acknowledge the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) team for providing access to the data used in this study.
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Y.C. led the study as the primary author, conceptualizing the overall study framework, undertaking data curation, formal statistical analyses, and drafting the original manuscript. Y.C. took primary responsibility for manuscript revision, including writing, review, and editing during the revision process. C.Y. contributed to designing study framework, additional statistical analyses, validation of results, and participated in manuscript revision, including review and editing during the revision stage. Y.Y. conceptualized the overall study framework and provided strategic guidance and supervision throughout the research process, including oversight of manuscript revision. All authors reviewed, edited, and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Chen, Y., Yin, C. & Ye, Y. Growing together: how urban green spaces enhance social participation and alleviate loneliness in older adults. npj Urban Sustain (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-026-00343-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-026-00343-y
