Researchers discover surprising factor that can make cities healthier: 'Could reduce the number of annual premature deaths'
Researchers say adding more greenery to cities helps improve residents' health, but there's one major caveat: Location matters.
Situating more green spaces in densely populated areas will save the most human lives, per Mongabay, which summarized the new report. Meanwhile, adding green spaces to areas with the least amount of nature comes in second from a life-saving perspective.
The study analyzed 96 cities across 48 countries and six continents that have committed to confronting the climate crisis through C40 Cities. The research team found that adding green spaces near population centers or in areas with the least amount of existing nature could provide 2.7 and 1.4 to 1.7 times the health benefits of adding green spaces uniformly across urban areas.
Five Indian cities — Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai — were included in the research and showed significant life-saving potential with added green space. India ranks as the most populous country in the world, with over 1.4 billion residents, per United States Census Bureau data.
"Across the five cities, increasing green area by 1% could reduce the number of annual premature deaths by 875-2,439, depending on where you add green spaces," one of the study's authors, Greta K. Martin, told Mongabay.
This new information comes as researchers continue to uncover the many health benefits of green spaces in urban environments. One study discovered a strong association between perceived green space exposure and reduced anxiety. Another found that spending time in residential gardens was linked to a decreased risk of certain cancers, including breast and uterine. And one group of researchers discovered that spending just 10 minutes in nature can help adults with mental illness.
These same green spaces also provide habitat and food for a variety of species, including pollinators.
Despite the benefits of green spaces, the authors of the new study acknowledged that implementation could prove challenging in some areas.
"The feasibility of increasing greenspace or expanding population access to nature by 1% varies across C40 cities," they stated. "Some cities have climates where maintaining greenspaces is water-intensive and cost-prohibitive, and others have dense urban cores, where adding nature could require extensive urban landscape changes, including building demolition."
However, Martin maintained that green spaces are a win for communities.
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"Adding green spaces is one piece of creating healthier cities," Martin told Mongabay. "Clean air, walkability, and safety are all important to getting the most health benefits from urban green spaces."
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