Green areas can improve the quality of life in urban settings, according to a new study reported on the BBC News.
Researchers believe the new study can be of some help to urban planners and society as a hole. They analyzed data from a national survey that followed over 5,000 households and 10,000 adults from the United Kingdom. The survey tracked the households and adults as them moved across the country from 1991 to 2008.
Participants of the survey were questioned about their own psychological health in an effort to estimate what researchers call the “green space effect.”
The study, done by Dr. Martin White and his colleagues at the European Centre for the Environment and Human Health, found that residents nearer to areas such as parks and gardens, experienced lower mental distress and were overall more satisfied with their life.
Researchers also took into consideration changes in income, employment, marital status, physical health and housing type. Even when these factors were taken into account, the researchers findings held up.
White formed a comparison between living in green areas and marriage.
"We've found that living in an urban area with relatively high levels of green space can have a significantly positive impact on well being, roughly equal to a third of the impact of being married," Dr. White said. “These kinds of comparisons are important for policymakers when trying to decide how to invest scarce public resources, such as for park development or upkeep, and figuring out what bang they'll get for their buck."
Beth Murphy, information manager at the mental health charity Mind, agreed with White and said the ability to enjoy the outdoors can put the mind at ease.
"For people living busy lifestyles in densely populated areas, being able to get outdoors and access green space is a great way to escape the stresses of day-to-day life,” Murphy said. “Our research has shown that 94% of people who took part in outdoors 'green exercise' said it benefited their mental health and can have huge impacts on physical health.”
The study was published in the journal Psychological Science.
