Nature in our community is
The Good Life
Metro nature - including trees, parks, gardens, and natural areas - enhance quality of life in cities and towns around the nation. The experience of nature improves human health and well-being in many ways. Nearly 40 years of scientific studies tell us how. Here's the research ... Livable Cities: Throughout time people have noted that nature is an important part of places that are livable and have a high quality of life.
Social Strengths: Urban green spaces provide a neutral space within which people come together, social interactions occur (that include people from different backgrounds), and relationships take form. Community building and increased social capital also emerge.
Local Economies: Trees in cities are not grown and managed for products that can be bought and sold on markets, but they do provide many intangible services and benefits! Economists and other social scientists have devised reliable nonmarket valuation methods to represent natural assets in cities and towns.
Place Attachment and Meaning: Place attachment and meaning are particularly relevant when considering issues of urban development and community-building. Attachment and meaning emerge from a variety of experiences and situations, and are often related to parks, green spaces, and natural areas.
Active Living: Inactive lifestyles and resulting obesity is causing an epidemic of poor health in adults and children. Recent research indicates that quality outdoor environments affect activity, attitudes, and behaviors. Trees and other greening elements can encourage physical activity.
Wellness and Physiology: For many city residents, stress is a constant. While tragic or traumatic situations and events may disrupt people’s lives, for most people everyday, persistent stressors may have a greater impact on health and well-being. Research shows that nature experiences provide an antidote to stress and support general wellness, offering restorative experiences that ease the mind and heal the body.
Mental Health and Function: Parks and green spaces are settings for cognitive respite. They provide calm settings and encourage social interaction and de-stressing through exercise or conversation. This can improve job and school performance, and help alleviate mental stress and illness.
Work and Learning: Places that incorporate or are located near nature can help remedy mental fatigue and restore one’s ability to focus on tasks. The result can be better performance in the work place and classroom. Additionally, nearby nature provides settings for play and experiential learning activities that promote children’s cognitive, social, and moral development.
Read about the benefits of nature at Green Cities Good Health (http://depts.washington.edu/hhwb/)
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