This year, the Journal of the American Heart Association linked reduced heart-disease risk to “neighbourhood greenness”. Yale University last year found that green space protected against low birth weight in children. These are two of the findings reported in an article in the Irish Times, which looked into the positive health outcomes of green spaces in cities.
The article highlights Professor Scott C. Brown, an environmental scientist at the University of Miami in the U.S. state of Florida. He spent the past 16 years examining how urban and suburban design affects the health of residents. A key finding was the strong relationship between greenness, especially trees, and wellbeing – a link also found by studies from Australia and Europe, according to the article.
Greenness reduces the odds of obesity-related conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, depression and even Alzheimer’s, says Brown, who with his colleagues recently published a link between greenness and four different forms of heart disease. A Canadian study found that having 11 additional trees improved the health of inhabitants in housing blocks as much as a 20,000 US Dollar pay increase. The study, which looked at diseases including diabetes, tied higher income to better health.
While planting trees may have only a small benefit per individual, says Brown, the significant advantage is that ultimately, one tree can benefit millions of people.
