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Nature's Contribution to Health and Well-being in Cities

Nature-Based Solutions for More Sustainable Cities – A Framework Approach for Planning and Evaluation

ISBN: 978-1-80043-637-4, eISBN: 978-1-80043-636-7

Publication date: 5 November 2021

Abstract

Urban green space can be viewed as a preventative public health measure. Nature contributes to health through disease prevention, disease management, and well-being (physical, mental, and social) promotion. Those contributions are based on improvement in health determinants. Nature and green spaces have been related to more physical activity, restoration and less stress, more social capital, and ecosystem services such as better air quality, less traffic noise, less heat island effects, more biodiversity, among others. Nature, vegetation, and green spaces have also been associated with better mental health, immune system, metabolic system, pregnancy outcomes, reduced cardiovascular disease, and premature mortality. This chapter presents the connections between nature and health, describing how nature impacts key health determinants, how those health determinants are associated with health outcomes (i.e. diseases, injuries, deaths), and provides examples of urban nature interventions that have been related to public health.

Keywords

Citation

Rojas-Rueda, D. (2021), "Nature's Contribution to Health and Well-being in Cities", Croci, E. and Lucchitta, B. (Ed.) Nature-Based Solutions for More Sustainable Cities – A Framework Approach for Planning and Evaluation, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 21-31. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-636-720211003

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022 David Rojas-Rueda. Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited