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Nature - or natural greenspace – is characterised by land, water and geological features with naturally occurring plants and animals (ref 1). Only just over one in five of the population live in a rural area and so access to nature is more likely to occur in urban or semi-urban environments.
Aspects of the physical environment which have been shown to have a negative impact on mental well-being include high population density (ref 2, 3), noise (ref 4) and information and stimulus overload (ref 2).
The probability of helping a stranger is inversely related to the level of environmental stimulation, which includes density of pedestrians and motor traffic (ref 2). Noise decreases the sense of connection between people and decreases the probability that people will help each other (ref 5).
In a major study, Lewis and Booth found that while those living in rural areas had a much lower prevalence of mental disorder, people living in built up areas with access to gardens or green, open spaces had a lower prevalence than people in built up areas with no such access (ref 6) .
(ref 7) provides several explanatory frameworks for the mental health benefits of contact with nature. These include ‘stress recovery’ – immediate psychological benefits from contact with nature (ref 8-11).
And ‘attention restoration’ – longer term psychological benefits from contact with nature (ref 12, 13).
Access to green, open spaces has important benefits for mental and physical health (ref 6, 14, 15). Reducing inequalities in access to green spaces and developing accessible local green spaces, for example community gardens, should be included as part of a stronger recognition of the impact of the environment on health – notably mental health and quality of life.
The Communities Plan “Sustainable Communities: Building for the future” (ref 16) sets out a long-term programme of action for delivering sustainable communities in both urban and rural areas. The Plan offers a new approach to how we build and what we build.
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References
1. English Nature (2002) Annual Report. (www.english-nature.org.uk)
2. Freeman H (ed.)(1984) Mental Health and the Environment London: Churchill Livingstone
3. Brain PF (1984) Human aggression and the physical environment. in Freeman H(ed) Mental Health and the Environment 97-120
4. Tarnopolsky A and Clark C (1984) Environmental noise and mental health in Freeman H (ed) Mental Health and the Environment 250-270
5. Walter JA (1982) The Human Home: The myth of the sacred environment. Tring: Lion
6. Lewis G and Booth M (1994) Are cities bad for your mental health? Psychological Medicine 24:913-915
7. Henwood K (2002) Issues in health development: Environment and health: Is there a role for environmental and countryside agencies in promoting benefits to health? London: Health Development Agency
8. Ulrich RS (1979) Visual landscapes and psychological well being. Landscape Research 4: 17-23.
9. Ulrich RS (1983) Aesthetic and affective response to natural environment. In: Altman I and Wohlwill JF (eds) Human Behaviour and Environment: advances in theory and research. Vol 6 Behaviour and the Natural Environment. New York: Plenum Press.
10. Ulrich R (1984) View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science (4) 20-1.
11. Ulrich R S, Simons R F, Losito B D, Fiorito E, Miles M A and Zelson M (1991) Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology 11: 201-30.
12. Kaplan R and Kaplan S (1989) The Experience of Nature: a psychological perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
13. Kaplan S (1995) The restorative effects of nature: toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology 16:169-82.
14. Dalgard OS and Tambs K (1997) Urban environment and mental health: a longitudinal study British Journal of Psychiatry 171:530-6
15. mentality (2003) Nature and psychological well-being: A briefing for English Nature. London: English Nature.
16. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2003) Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future.
