Living in greener areas better mental health and less drug consumption Study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) person who analyzes the relationship between mental health and mental health 3-30-300 rule Number of green spaces in Barcelona.
As Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, director of the ISGlobal Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative and first author of the study, explains, urban green spaces have many well-known benefits for human health. increased life expectancy and improved cognitive functionhowever, it is still unclear how much green space is really needed to improve health.
Now this study by ISGlobal, a center sponsored by the La Caixa Foundation, evaluated the relationship between better mental health and the so-called 3-30-300 rule for green spaces. rule that everyone should be able to see at least three trees from their homenever mind 30% tree cover in your neighborhood and that you do not live more than 300 meters from the nearest park or green area.
This rule was proposed by urban forester Cecil Konijnendijk and is widely supported by many other foresters and urban planners.
The research results revealed that following the full 3-30-300 green zone rule was clearly associated with better mental health, less drug use, and less drug use. fewer visits to the psychologist.
However, only residential green space, but a window view of trees or access to substantial green space was statistically significantly associated with better mental health.
According to research, Only 4.7% of the surveyed population complied with the green space rule.
Just over 43% of the people who participated had at least three trees within a 15-metre radius of their home, 62.1% had a substantial green space within a 300-metre radius, and 8.7% lived in an area with sufficient greenery in the surrounding area.
In contrast, almost 22.4% had none of these elements.
This study is a Sample of 3,145 people Residing between the ages of 15 and 97, Barcelona Participants in the 2016 Barcelona Health Survey introduced by the Barcelona Public Health Agency.
18% of the participants declared that they have. poor mental health8.3% declared that they had gone to a psychologist in the last year, 9.4% stated that they used sedatives or sedatives, and 8.1% stated that they had taken antidepressants in the last two days.
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“From research it appears that There are relatively few green spaces in Barcelona and that despite its beneficial effects on mental health, only a small percentage of people follow the 3-30-300 rule,” Mark Nieuwenhuijsen summarized.
“There is urgent need to provide citizens with more green space. We may need to dig up the asphalt and plant more trees, which will not only improve health but also reduce heat island effects and contribute to CO2 sequestration,” added Nieuwenhuijsen.
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