With over half of the world’s population living in urban areas, opportunities to connect with nature are decreasing while exposure to environmental hazards like noise and air pollution are increasing. To integrate the health and environmental benefits of natural landscape in urban areas, more cities are prioritizing green space.
What is a Green Space?
As the name suggests, green spaces are areas where nature and greenery are allowed to thrive. In urban areas, green spaces can serve as public recreation areas in the form of parks, gardens, and nature trails for walking or cycling. Community gardens to grow food are also examples of green spaces. Additionally, infrastructure that incorporates vegetation, like green roofs or vertical gardens, can offer some of the benefits of green spaces.
4 Benefits of Green Spaces in Cities
Almost 7 billion people will live in urban areas by 2050. As cities grow in population and size, the inclusion of green spaces in city planning can have some important and unexpected benefits.
1. Green Spaces Improve Mental Health
A 2019 study in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research had participants report on their life satisfaction and mood before and after visiting an urban park. Sixty percent of participants reported an increased score after their park visit. Importantly, while 30 percent of participants voluntarily engaged in at least moderate physical exercise during their visit, the study’s authors noted that for many participants, just being in green space was enough to positively impact their self-reported well-being score.
2. Social Benefits of Green Spaces
Free public green spaces allow us not only to connect with nature but to connect with each other. Spaces like parks, trails, and playgrounds allow communities to socialize outdoors together for both informal gatherings and planned community events like children’s sports leagues and festivals. Community gardens can help us grow food self-sufficiently but they also strengthen ties between neighbors, enhancing community cohesion.
In some cities, green spaces are unequally distributed with wealthier areas having more tree cover and public green spaces than lower-income areas. In an article on the importance of equity in green space access, the World Resources Institute reports “[u]rban green spaces can be a valuable tool to level the playing field for disadvantaged communities across a wide range of issues, including health and economic benefits, improved safety and disaster resilience.”
3. Green Spaces Mitigate Heat Islands
Urban infrastructure, like roads and buildings, trap heat more than natural landscape. Urban areas with little natural landscape get up to 7° F hotter than rural areas or even suburban areas with more tree coverage, an increase that can be devastating during heat waves. Hotter temperatures are uncomfortable for everyone, but older adults, young children, low-income populations, and outdoor workers are especially vulnerable in these conditions. Two of the EPA’s heat island cooling strategies directly relate to green spaces in urban areas. Installing green roofs and increasing tree and vegetation cover can “[lower] surface and air temperatures by providing shade and cooling through evapotranspiration.” As cities grow and climate change increases extreme weather events, mitigating the effect of heat islands through green spaces can keep our communities healthy and safe for everyone.
4. Green Spaces Increase Children’s Quality of Life
The UNICEF discussion paper The Necessity of Urban Green Space for Children’s Optimal Development notes that 55 percent of all children live in cities, a number that will only increase as the world’s population and urbanization grows. The paper delves into the importance of accessible green space on child development, noting that children with more access to green space in their early years are rated healthier by their parents. Additionally, older children in greener neighborhoods have higher self-reported health outcomes than adolescents without this access. The benefits of green spaces discussed in the paper cover increased motor coordination, more opportunities to engage in physical activity, improved cognitive development, and higher academic performance.
Final Thoughts
As cities grow and climate change affects our environment, incorporating high-quality and accessible green spaces in urban areas benefits communities from many different angles. From protected wildlife areas to green roofs to communal gardens, urban green spaces keep us safer, happier, and more connected.
Green Spaces and Urban Planning Lesson Plan for Elementary Grades
To introduce kids to the importance of urban green spaces, check out our newly redesigned lesson on the topic, Green Spaces. In this lesson, students graph how being outdoors affects their moods and then design an imaginary city that meets both the green space needs and daily living needs of the city’s residents.
Image credits: White building with trees (Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash); Women on bench (Photo by Dario Valenzuela on Unsplash); Rooftop trees (Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash); Teacher reading (ID 155739231 ©David Tadevosian, Dreamstime.com)
