Health

Improved opportunities for physical activity from greening and active transportation are well-understood, but just being around nature has profound benefits—radiating outward from individuals to communities. “Greening” is not just about adding plants to the urban environment. Changes in the built-environment can have a positive cumulative effect on everyday quality of life for people.

The everyday stress of traffic, work, school, and home life can drain us of energy and lead to poor health outcomes. However, research increasingly recognizes the mental and physical benefits of human interaction with naturalized landscapes. Contact with plants, soils, water, and other natural elements can promote a sense of calmness and well-being. More plants and trees in urban areas can better serve a range of environmental services, but even a little patch and even a little time can have positive results. Just 120 minutes a week in natural settings is demonstrated to have significant benefits on physical and mental health [1].

Humans are directly physiologically adapted to natural environmental conditions. As early as 1972 study on human preferences for natural landscapes [2], experience of the landscape has been shown to improve physical health, mental health, and healing. Among a growing library of examples, just viewing a landscape can significantly improve recovery from surgery [3], improve job satisfaction and positively impact stress [4]; and being in nature can improve eyesight in children [5], improve focus for children with attention deficit disorder [6], restore focus and mental energy more generally [7], and improve memory, clear thinking, and positively impact depression [8, 9].

Moreover, exposure to nature has also been shown to improve social cohesion and support [10], reduce interpersonal aggression [11], and support empowerment [12]. Both State and County have recognized the link between community health and safety and outdoor recreation in the Parks Make Life Better and Parks After Dark programs.

Attention Restoration Theory (ART) together with other methods may also be helpful in identifying human percptions to consciously plan, design, and program for human restoration [13].

[1] White, M.P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J. et al. 2019. Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Scientific Reports 9, 7730. 

[2] Kaplan, S., Kaplan, R., & Wendt, J. S.. 1972. Rated preference and complexity for natural and urban visual material. Perception & Psychophysics 12 (4). 

[3] Ulrich, R. S.. 1984. View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science 224 (4647).

[4] Shin, W. S. 2007. The influence of forest view through a window on job satisfaction and job stress. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research  22 (3). 

[5] Rose, K.A., I.G. Morgan, J. Ip, et. al. 2008. Outdoor activity reduces the prevalence of myopia in children. Ophthalmology 115 (8). A

[6] Taylor, A. F., and F. E. Kuo. Children with Attention Deficits Concentrate Better After Walk in the Park. Journal of Attention Disorders 12 (5). 

[7] Herzog, T. R., Black, A. M., Fountaine, K. A., & Knotts, D. J. 1997. Reflection and Attentional Recovery as Distinctive Benefits of Restorative Environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 17(2). 

[8] Berman, M. G., Jonides, J., and Kaplan, S.. 2008. The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting With Nature. Psychological Science 19 (12). 

[9] Berman, M.G., Kross, E., Krpan, K.M. et. al. 2012. Interacting with nature improves cognition and affect for individuals with depression. Journal of Affective Disorders 140 (3). 

[10] Coley R.L., Sullivan W.C., Kuo F.E. 1997. Where does community grow?: The social context created by nature in urban public housing. Environment and Behavior 29 (4). 

[11] Kuo F.E., Sullivan W.C. 2001. Aggression and violence in the inner city: Effects of environment via mental fatigue. Environment and Behavior 33 (4). 

[12] Westphal, L. M.. 2003. Urban greening and social benefits: A study of empowerment outcomes. Journal of Arboriculture 29 (3). 

[13] Kaplan, R., S. Kaplan, and R. L. Ryan. With People in Mind: Design and Management of Everyday Nature. Washington, DC: Island Press, 1998.