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 The article, co-authored by 26 of the world’s top experts on
nature’s effects on human health and well-being, describes nature’s
ability to improve mental health in much the same way that it
improves water quality, sequesters carbon dioxide, and prevents
floods. Such “ecosystem services” are routinely considered during
city planning initiatives, but the link between natural elements and
mental health has been overlooked, the scientists say.
“I felt it was time to address the disconnect between what the
science tells us cities should be doing for mental health and what
cities are doing,” says Ming Kuo, associate professor in the
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the
University of Illinois, explaining her involvement in the study.
“Almost one in five adults in the U.S. lives with a mental illness,
and the statistics are similar worldwide. I felt we couldn’t remain
silent. The group wanted to offer a consensus statement on what the
science is telling us and how to actually put that into practice in
designing better cities.”
The group synthesized multiple lines of evidence and hundreds of
academic studies – including many by Kuo and her students -- to
arrive at their consensus statement. Kuo notes the process wasn’t
easy but the group was finally able to boil down the scientific
evidence into a summary “we could all agree with.” In essence, as
people are increasingly losing contact with nature, the evidence
suggests this may be undermining their mental health.
In developing its statement, the team considered evidence on both
positive and negative mental health outcomes, as well as risk
factors for mental illness. Kuo explains, “Nature experiences are
tied to signs of optimal health and functioning such as greater
happiness, better learning and cognitive performance, and more
social ties. They’re also tied to lower levels of mental illness,
including lower rates of depression and anxiety disorders.”
The scientists note that while much of the evidence is correlative,
some is based on longitudinal or experimental studies, considered
the gold standard in science. For example, a study by Kuo and her
then-student, Andrea Faber Taylor, randomly assigned children with
ADHD to 20-minute walks in different settings, and found their
concentration was better after a walk in a park than a walk in
pleasant, but less “green” surroundings.
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In addition to offering a consensus statement, the group suggests a systematic,
four-step approach to considering the mental health ecosystem services of
natural features and views, taking into account the types and amounts of natural
features, the exposure and experiences people are likely to have, and then
making evidence-based projections of the likely effects on mental health.
The team envisions a scenario in which a city planner could incorporate mental
health considerations into decisions about new public parks. In the future,
those planners might even be able to determine where the park should go, how big
the park should be, and what natural elements—like trees, grass, or a restored
river—would maximize the potential mental health benefits to the community.
"In the future, if we can find low-cost ways that help to introduce and conserve
nature while simultaneously working to address psychological well-being and
mental health, then this can be a win-win solution in many cases," says Greg
Bratman, an assistant professor at the University of Washington School of
Environmental and Forest Sciences and lead author of the paper.
Kuo adds that greening low-income neighborhoods may pay especially big
dividends. “In cities worldwide, the poorest neighborhoods are also the ones
most lacking in street trees, landscaping, and parks. The difference is so large
that you can see poverty from space – the barren neighborhoods jump out at you.
We’re trying to give planners, mayors, and city councils a way to count the
potential mental health costs of those missing trees.”
The article, “Nature and mental health: An ecosystem service perspective,” is
published in Science Advances [DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax0903]. Kuo’s home
department, natural resources and environmental sciences, is part of the College
of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of
Illinois.
[Source: Ming Kuo,
News writer: Lauren Quinn] |
