Conceptualizing Community Reply to Rosie

REPLY TO ROSIE

Reply to Rosie Regarding Conceptualizing Community

Research has corroborated that medical costs for humans could be reduced by planting trees in the neighborhood. An investigation showed that neighborhood areas where fewer trees were planted had increased health problems and $374 higher medical costs per year (Preidt, 2022). There remains no doubt that trees are an essential part of our lives and could be considered a ‘medicine’ with relevance to their benefits. Greener and healthier environment due to trees support the health mechanism of humans, including less stress, improved air quality, and better coping mechanism for the body for people of all ages, creating an amplified effect of positive health outcomes in the neighborhood (Eeden et al., 2022).

Similarly, an increased crime rate in an area adversely affects the neighborhood since people feel unsafe and are afraid of going out, causing greater stress. The unsafe habitat causes them to remain in constant depression, especially those who have children since they have to go to school, and leaving them alone in the playgrounds does not guarantee their safety. Research has also pointed out an interesting fact that females feel more unsafe toward the crime and report the crime to police at a greater frequency than males (Putrik et al., 2019). It could be for the same reason that if they are mothers, their unsafe feelings would be high, leading to neighborhood unrest and trouble in mind at all times.

However, two types of crime effects affect neighborhood health: objective and subjective. Objective crimes are the actual reported crimes in society, while those subjected are perceived. Self-reported perceptions about the crime might affect each individual’s health as perceptions differ from person to person. If a female takes theft in the neighborhood home more seriously than her husband, then she might be under greater stress regarding the safety of her children compared to the father, who is a man.

References

Eeden, S.K.V.D., Browing, M.H.E.M., Becker, D.A., Shan, J., Alexeeff, S.E., Ray, G.T., Quesenberry, C.P. & Kuo, M. (2022). Association between residential green cover and direct healthcare costs in Northern California: An individual-level analysis of 5 million persons. Environment International, 163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107174