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The effects of urban green space on environmental health equity and resilience to extreme weather
Citation:
Braubach, M., A. Egorov, P. Mudu, AND T. Wolf. The effects of urban green space on environmental health equity and resilience to extreme weather. EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE (ECBCC), Bonn, GERMANY, November 17 - 19, 2015.
Impact/Purpose:
The project report, expected by early 2016, will provide an overview of public health benefits of urban green spaces and methods to quantify green space availability and accessibility, as well as a GIS toolkit for a selected indicator of urban greenspace accessibility.
Description:
Introduction Exposure to environmental hazards and beneficial factors varies with income and other socioeconomic and demographic factors. The resulting environmental inequalities have direct and indirect impacts on health and wellbeing. Many environmental inequalities relate to natural and environmental features. Positive effects on health and wellbeing can result not only from reduced exposure to environmental hazards but also from psychological and physiological benefits resulting from urban residents‘ interaction with natural and vegetated areas, the active use of natural environment and green infrastructure with a shift to a more active lifestyle. The environmental benefits that ecosystems provide are related to absorption of air pollutants and buffering of noise, moderating influence on local weather extremes, and their water retention capacity (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). Nature-based solutions also open opportunities to reduce significant environmental inequalities and related adverse health impacts in disadvantaged populations through strengthening and supporting focused environmental policies and technical interventions in target areas. WHO work on urban green spaces and health in the European RegionAn ongoing WHO project has focused on developing tools for assessing the provision of urban green spaces as an important nature-based solution to sustainable urban development and climate change adaptation. A review of the health impacts of urban green space indicated that different types and sizes of urban green space are associated with varying health benefits: Observing or interacting with green spaces or other natural environments results in psychosocial benefits, such as relaxation and stress reduction, which are linked to a variety of health and wellbeing benefits including improved pregnancy outcomes, improved developmental and learning outcomes in children, and reduced morbidity and mortality; Active use of urban green areas leads to improved physical fitness and various health benefits such as prevention of cardiovascular disease, obesity prevention, mortality reduction; Reduced exposure to air pollutants and noise also results in a diverse set of health benefits, such as improved respiratory and cardiovascular health; Mitigation of urban heat island effect and heat waves has a potential to prevent heat-associated mortality.On the other side, potential detrimental effects, such as an increased risk of allergies or injuries need to be considered as well. Following the commitment of the Member States of the WHO European Region to “provide each child by 2020 with access to green spaces in which to play and undertake physical activity” (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2010), WHO has also evaluated various indicators of green space availability and accessibility in relation to their health relevance. The first indicator suggested by WHO as a tool for assessing green space acessibility is the percentage of urban population living within linear distance of 300m from the boundary of a green space of minimum 1 hectare. It allows the integration of socioeconomic and demographic data in order to identify potential inequalities in green space accessibility and facilitate targeted urban planning measures. Secondary indicators suggested were (a) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data as a measure of total greenness within a city and (b) green space usage if data are easily available or collectable. The project report, expected by early 2016, will provide an overview of public health benefits of urban green spaces and methods to quantify green space availability and accessibility, as well as a GIS toolkit for a selected indicator. Disclaimers:This abstract does not represent US EPA policy.