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Aplethora of studies over the past few decades has indicated that spending time in natural outdoor environments is associated with benefits such as reduced stress and improved mental health. But questions remain about whether such benefits are primarily attributable to features of green environments themselves, or are instead gained indirectly through the way people use these spaces. Compared with the time they spend in busy cities or indoor environments, for example, people in natural environments may be more likely to exercise or socialize with friends or neighbors—activities that are in turn associated with benefits to human health.
It’s a topic that has long interested Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, an urban planning and environment researcher at Barcelona Institute for Global Health. In 2012, he helped launch the long-running project, PHENOTYPE (Positive Health Effects of the Natural Outdoor environment in TYPical populations in different regions in Europe), to investigate the underlying ...
