20.08.2017 - Ausgabe: 4/2017

Nature and health – the importance of parks in the urbanised future

Donald Jacob (landscape architect) and Joanna Lawson (architect)

In 1900, just 10% of the world's population lived in towns and cities; by 2010, this percentage had risen to 53% and it is predicted that by 2050, 75% of humankind will be inhabiting urban environments[i]. One of the consequences of this dramatic increase in town dwellers is a resultant lack of contact with nature.

A number of studies have found that such restricted access to nature leads to an increase in stress levels and deterioration of the ability to concentrate[ii]. This means decreased productivity and greater tendency to irritability. Not only that, but there are also associated physical problems, especially the cardiovascular disorders that represent a major issue for healthcare systems.

The WHO warns that by 2020, psychological disorders are likely to constitute 15% of the Global Burden of Disease while cardiovascular disease will continue to represent the main cause of mortality and disability.

In comparison with the time it took the human species to adapt to its natural environment, the period we have spent living in urban situations is relatively short. The finding that lack of contact with nature can lead to problems with health demonstrates that we are actually still dependent on nature. In fact, we are not detached from the natural world but are just as much a part of it as all other living beings that exist within the complex and interconnected ecosystems that are also essential for our survival[iii].

It was in the 1980s that the two American professors of psychology Stephen and Rachel Kaplan proposed their Attention Restoration Theory that sets out their hypothesis that nature has a restorative potential for humans[iv]. Directed attention is the term they use to describe the thought processes we employ on a daily basis when considering complex information. However, directed attention requires conscious effort and can thus cause mental fatigue, which in its turn generates frustration and reduced creativity. According to the Kaplans' theory, however, we use a form of spontaneous effortless attention when looking at or spending time in natural surroundings. We are automatically drawn to the soft fascinations of the multifarious sensory input offered by nature – the movement of the leaves in the wind, the songs of the birds, the colours of the flowers and the trees. This form of effortless attention restores us and regenerates our capacity for directed attention. We then again find it easier to deal with complex matters.

Taking the Attention Restoration Theory as their starting point, studies undertaken in a housing project in Chicago report that there is a correlation between exposure to natural scenery and a reduction in aggression and impulsive behaviour[v]. Other researchers have concentrated on the relationship between nature and the alleviation of stress. Analyses of employees at their workplaces have determined that those who have a view of natural surroundings through a window find their work less stressful, are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and suffer less from illnesses and headaches[vi].

The benefits that natural scenery brings with it and the relevance of hospital gardens in the context of patient recovery are being increasingly recognised. In his 1984 publication A View through a Window May Influence Recovery from Surgery, Roger Ulrich describes the psychosomatic effects that a view from a window overlooking natural scenery can have on patients recuperating after gallbladder surgery[vii]. Those resting in rooms with views of trees or grass required less potent analgesics and shorter hospitalisation than those in rooms with windows providing a view of a brick wall only. Could this be a possible way of lowering the costs of healthcare?

Moreover, it has also been demonstrated that the availability of a park in their vicinity can encourage people to take more physical exercise[viii]. On the other hand, little or no access to natural surroundings is associated with an increased level of physical inactivity, itself a factor in the development of chronic disorders such as hypertension, elevated cholesterol, obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A combination of physical exertion and a natural environment benefits us in a form that is consistent with our evolutionary history – exercising in varying terrains in direct contact with nature profits us not simply physically but also psychologically and spiritually[ix].

It is particularly important that children are provided with access to parks and open green spaces. Children who are physically active often also remain physically active when they become adults. In his influential work, Richard Louv describes what he calls nature-deficit syndrome. This arises as a result of the combination of the attractions of modern entertainment technology, the anxieties of patients and inadequate provision of green spaces for children who, as a consequence, are underexposed to nature and can thus develop behavioural disorders[x].

 

Parks are invaluable health resources

In view of the growth of the urban population worldwide, parks will be the only natural spaces available to many and it is therefore important that we accord them the importance they deserve. There is nothing new in the conviction that they are beneficial to health. When the first public parks were laid out in the 19^th century, it was hoped that they would contribute to a reduction in illness, criminality and social unrest while providing 'green lungs' for cities and areas for recreation[xi]. In 1865, the US landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted (who created New York's Central Park in collaboration with architect and landscape designer Calvert Vaux) wrote: "It is a scientific fact that the occasional contemplation of natural scenes [...] is favourable to the health and vigour of men...”[xii].

The Parks Victoria authority based in Melbourne, Australia has as its motto 'Healthy Parks Healthy People' and it organises annual congresses in order to promote research into the contribution that nature makes to our well-being and into its wider social implications[xiii]. According to a study undertaken by Deakin University in Melbourne in collaboration with the authority, nature can be seen as an insufficiently exploited public resource while parks and nature conservation areas represent potential gold mines when it comes to fostering improved national health[xiv].

But the existence of a park alone is not enough to guarantee that it will actually be used. Local authorities need to invest more in the upkeep of public spaces. Future construction projects must focus on the provision of both safe and readily accessible green spaces and on the conservation of those green areas that are already present within the urban environment.

In heavily developed zones where nature is excluded, inventiveness is required so that green spaces can be created in locations that are otherwise redundant. An example of what can result from this sort of approach is the High Line in New York, created on a disused elevated section of the New York Central Railroad. The High Line has since become an internationally admired project; in 2011, just two years after being opened, it had already attracted more than 4 million visitors. The Friends of the High Line also regularly organise cultural and educational events there. Social interaction and community work are also recognised as being activities that are good for our well-being.

 

A park is worth its weight in gold

Parks also bring with them major economic rewards. Well-tended and supervised parks contribute to the value of their surroundings and attract investors there. Property prices rise and there is the concomitant increase in tax revenues. Locations are made more attractive. Parks are also amenities that enhance social cohesiveness, in other words, social capital, and can thus counteract delinquency and criminality in their location so that less local policing is required. Parks reduce the costs of rainwater management and air purification – another reason to invest more in green spaces.

The world's population is already on the move into cities. Burdett & Sudjic estimate that per hour, 49 persons move to Delhi, 44 relocate to Mumbai and 26 migrate to Shanghai[xv]. It is still unclear what the consequences of this transition will be, but bearing in mind the benefits of nature and the negative effects of insufficient contact with the natural world, it is essential that we begin now to seriously consider how we should react to it.

 

Images:  Donald Jacob

 

 

References