The scientific evidence for nature’s positive influence on human health and well-being

Abstract

Over the past 40 years, many research projects have concluded that natural environments have a positive impact on human health and well-being. Researchers have also proposed that this knowledge can be used in health promotion and care. However, scepticism remains among many health professionals about nature’s healing ability. Furthermore, the importance of green areas for people’s health and well-being is not always integrated properly in the planning and design of our cities. The purpose of this chapter is to provide practitioners with research-based documentation through a critical mapping of the evidence concerning how natural environments affect human health as well as an introduction to theories within the field. The content consists of a meta-review of systematic reviews of scientific articles based on studies of the impact of nature on health. The purpose has been to map out and categorize existing literature and critically evaluate its quality by determining the degree of evidence regarding a causal relationship between human exposure to nature and subsequent health and well-being. The results show that there are many health benefits of living near green areas, at least in an urban context, especially if they are large and offer various environmental qualities. Some of the evidence from these reviews can be directly utilised in urban planning and design, but more research is needed regarding how cities can apply and integrate these findings into policy and planning.

Published in

Title: Green and healthy Nordic cities : How to plan, design, and manage health-promoting urban green space
Publisher: Nordgreen

SLU Authors

• Grahn, Patrik

  • Department of People and Society, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Associated SLU-program

Built environment
SLU Future One Health
SLU Urban Futures

Global goals (SDG)

SDG3 Good health and well-being
SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities

UKÄ Subject classification

Landscape Architecture
Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
Environmental Health and Occupational Health

Publication identifier

• ISBN: 978-91-8001-088-7

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/128257