The potential of urban green and blue spaces to generate better health and well-being is outlined in a new report, which also presents methodologies to assess the value of these impacts on society. “Assessing the value of urban green and blue spaces for health and well-being” is part of a growing body of evidence which supports more consistent decision-making from policy-makers about urban spaces, by illuminating their multifunctional benefits, as well as the potential trade-offs inherent in their provision.
Space is limited in urban areas and competition over its use is growing. In a world of competing interests, there is a lack of health-related evidence on the benefits and risks to society associated with such spaces. To protect or enhance them, their value needs to be better understood by those making decisions on resource allocation. Despite advances in environmental and public health economics, a monetary value cannot be placed on the benefits they bring, including for future generations. Therefore, a mixture of methods is required to understand the value that people attach to urban green and blue spaces.
Potential benefits which can be assessed include:
- environmental benefits, such as carbon capture and storage and improved water quality;
- health and well-being benefits, including physical health (e.g. directly, through reduced air pollution and cooling effects; or indirectly, through increased opportunities for physical activity) and mental health and well-being (e.g. stress relief or reducing harms such as noise);
- social, cultural and spiritual benefits, such as the support of urban nature for social contact and cohesion, as well as for education, heritage and creativity.
Types of potential risks to be assessed include:
- injuries, deaths and safety (e.g. drownings and impacts associated with extreme weather events);
- pollen and allergies (e.g. from street trees and other planting);
- vectors and zoonotic diseases (e.g. Lyme disease from tick bites);
- infections and antimicrobial resistance (e.g. from exposure to organisms in soil, water and other media).
Key messages
The report suggests a range of steps to increase the benefits of urban nature, and the application of tools with which to assess the value of their benefits and support decision-making:
- Use the available tools to quantitatively and qualitatively value the health benefits of urban green and blue spaces, and use this information to improve policy-making.
- Design green and blue spaces that enable physical activity and improve mental health and well-being to give the greatest benefit for health.
- Critically appraise the quantitative and qualitative evidence on nature benefits so that policy-makers can understand the quality of the evidence on the health value of green and blue spaces.
- Involve a range of stakeholders who place different values on urban green and blue spaces in developing appropriate strategies.