Improving a City's Mental Health with Parks

Mental Health and Green Space
Measuring Mental Health and Green Space
Grahn and Stigsdotter (2010) sampled 953 randomly selected informants from 9 cities in Sweden to respond to a questionnaire. The responses were assessed using factor analysis and regression analyses to measure the impact of green space on mental health. Their study found that environments rich with nature and abundant wildlife help to minimize stress. Their finding is supported by Wolf (n.d.) who shows that by incorporating green spaces into urban areas, communities can improve the mental health of their population.
The study by Fjeld, Veiersted, Sandvik et al. (1998) focused on measuring the neuropsychological symptoms, mucous membrane symptoms, and skin symptoms of participants in an office building before and after foliage plants were introduced into the office. The study measured all of the symptoms were lessened by 23% in total following the introduction of greenery into the office. Their study shows that green space helps to positively impact people’s psychology as well as their physical health.
Green Space in My Area
My city (Cincinnati) ranks 10th among the top 100 largest cities. 14% of the city is considered park land. The city has decreased its percentage of park land by over 1% over the past few years, but it is still well above the national average which is at 9% of urban space devoted to park land.
Part of the reason for the decrease in park land is because the city is undergoing urban renewal and new buildings are going up and green space is diminishing. There is a lot of construction going on in the urban areas where the city is trying to rejuvenate itself to attract more businesses and people who want to live downtown.
Predicting the Effect of Green Space in My Area on Mental Health
While my city already has a lot of green space available to its inhabitants, much of it is on the peripheral side and the downtown area could use more greenery. For example, the Fountain Square area in the shopping district could use some trees to go along with the fountain, as this could give the area a more park like feel which could alleviate stress for a lot of the employees of the shopping district. It could also give shoppers a respite from all the big high rises and allow them an opportunity to refresh after a busy day going to the stores.
One of the problems with the city, however, is that only 70% of its inhabitants live within a half mile of a park—and this is the lowest of any city in the top 10, according to Park Score (2017). This means that roughly only 2/3rds of the people have easy access to parks. This translates potentially into the reality that a third of the city’s inhabitants will have poorer mental health than the other 2/3rds.
Moreover, there is not enough park space in the business district. This means that workers who work in the business district are not having easy access to refreshing places where they can recharge and revitalize their energy by being in a natural surrounding where there are green plants and wildlife. Natural settings can help to reduce stress and in jobs where there is a high stress level, a park setting can really help to keep workers calm and feeling positive.
Overall, the green space that is available will have a positive effect on the city, and the population will be able to make social connections as a result and enjoy access to a number of venues where they can partake in physical activity, such as roller skating, rollerblading, playing basketball or tennis, swimming, playing volleyball or baseball, going on hikes and bike rides, or going for jogs along trails through parks. The number of parks that are available in my city will help to keep people active and moving and socializing.
The parks can also help reduce depression and stress for persons suffering from physical conditions and mental illness such as Alzheimer’s. Refreshing, natural settings help to lighten moods and create a feeling of calmness and peacefulness. People who are exhausted by physical ailments or mental distress can come to green spaces for alleviation (Wolf, n.d.).
Green spaces can also aid children who suffer from attention deficit disorder (Wolf, n.d.). Children who have ADD can play outdoors in green spaces which can help reduce their symptoms. It is a much better setting for play, as opposed to a windowless setting in a room, researchers have found (Wolf., n.d.).
However, the city could improve its current amount of green spaces by adding parks to the urban areas where there are dense populations, poorer communities, but no parks. Poorer neighborhoods need to be vitalized too and parks can help the community’s mental health to improve. Children need outdoor green spaces to play and develop their skills and if the city does not provide parks for this purpose, it is essentially forgetting about these neighborhoods and only showing an interest in beautifying areas that upper class communities can enjoy. Since not everyone is able to travel significant distances to reach a green space, the city should work and adding parks to more densely populated regions of the city where there currently are no green spaces. Spreading the green around will help to facilitate the growth and positive development of mental health in the city.

References
Fjeld, T., B. Veiersted, L. Sandvik, G. Riise, and F. Levy. 1998. The Effect of Indoor
Foliage Plants on Health and Discomfort Symptoms Among Office Workers. Indoor and Built Environment 7(4), 204.
Grahn, P., and U.K. Stigsdotter. 2010. The Relation Between Perceived Sensory
Dimensions of Urban Green Space and Stress Restoration. Landscape and Urban Planning, 94(3-4), 264-275.
Park Score. (2017). Rankings. Retrieved from
http://parkscore.tpl.org/historic/2016_ParkScoreRank.pdf
Wolf, K. (n.d.). Mental Health & Function. Retrieved October 21, 2017, from
https://depts.washington.edu/hhwb/Thm_Mental.html