WHO

Year of publication: 2016

This report offers a review of the existing evidence on the health effects of green space in urban areas alongside a summary of health‐relevant measures of green space availability, accessibility and usage.

The main objectives are to inform public health specialists and policy‐makers on the benefits of providing urban residents with green space access, and to provide cities with systematic approaches to quantifying and monitoring their green space access. WHO advocate the implementation and evaluation of targeted, evidence‐based green space interventions for the health promotion of urban residents.

They list many public health benefits from urban green space, including relaxation and stress reduction, enhanced physical activity and mitigation of exposure to air pollution, excessive heat and noise. These outweigh potential detrimental effects from exposure to allergenic pollen and infections carried by insect vectors.

The review finds a need for small, local green spaces close to where people live, but also large green spaces with more formal provision and opportunities to experience contact with nature. WHO propose urban green space indicators to monitor the implementation of the Parma Declaration commitment “to provide each child…with access to…green spaces to play and undertake physical activity” (WHO, 2016).

Content type: Environment

Tags: Report

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