Health Benefits
Human health also benefits from properly maintained green space:
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Recreation - Green spaces provide ideal surfaces for a variety of recreational and sports activity and high use activities including parks and playgrounds.
- Increased Physical Activity/Reducing Obesity - Access to green space is an important predictor of increased physical activity (“active living”) and reduced risk of obesity. A recent study of over 40 million people in England shows that health disparities between high income and low income people are much narrow in areas with ample green space, possibly because it allows residents to become more physically active and reduce stress.
- Healthcare/Stress Reduction – Just being in, or viewing, green space for a few minutes reduces stress. This has been demonstrated by medical studies with hospital patients and the general public.
Data compiled for this research (refer to source below) refute the notion that green space is merely ornamental or aesthetic and indicates substantial environmental and human health benefits from healthy, properly maintained green space.
[source: Benefits of Green Space – Recent Research, April 25, 2011, John Heinze, Ph.D. Environmental Health Research Foundation]
