1. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Branching out: Greening the city for resilient, healthy communities A short synopsis of evidence Dr Kate Matysek National Policy Advisor, Heart Foundation

2. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 2 Green Spaces vegetated land within or adjoining an urban area - bushland, amenity parks and grasslands, outdoor sports facilities, school playgrounds, vacant land and countryside immediately adjoining an urban area. from formally designated areas such as parks, to more natural areas (e.g. corridors along river banks). can also be created through green roofs and tree-lined streets.

3. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 3 FAST FACTS

4. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 4 Planning implications 2011: ¾ of Australians in 18 major cities, popn >100,000 Major implications for: –Planning for supportive environments for health Access to green space –Mental health –Physical activity

5. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 5 Some Basics… FACT: Physical activity can reduce depression and promote wellbeing. FACT: In densely populated urban areas, green space within walking distance is likely to promote physical activity outside the home for all age groups. FACT: Tree-lined routes can offer extra motivation to walk compared to routes without trees.

6. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 6 Physical Activity & Nature Physical inactivity results in 1.9 million deaths worldwide annually, roughly one in 25 of all deaths Natural environments offer low-cost preventative and remedial opportunities for public health (Maller, Townsend et al. 2002). Children and adults benefit so much from contact with nature that land conservation can now be viewed as a public health strategy (Frumkin and Louv 2007).

7. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 7 Did you know? People who live close to a park are more likely to lead active lives and less likely to be overweight. A recent study commissioned by Natural England found that people living in neighbourhoods more than a mile from a park had a 27 % greater chance of being overweight or obese.

8. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 8 Both physical activity and exposure to green space are known separately to have positive effects on physical and mental health Source: Pretty, Peacock et al. (2005)

9. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 9 Green exercise is… any informal physical activity that takes place outdoors e.g. –gardening –cycling –walking in urban green areas –kite flying –conservation projects in the countryside living near a park predicts more physical activity Parks have greater use with greenery, maintenance, facilities like rest rooms Source: Dannenberg, Frumkin et al. (2011)

10. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 10 What does the evidence say? The first 5 minutes of green exercise have the biggest effect on –Mood –Self esteem –Lighter intensity activities produced the greatest effects –Individuals experiencing mental ill-health benefit most. Source: Barton (2010)

11. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 11 Every 10%  in green space is associated with a reduction in diseases equivalent to an increase of five years of life expectancy Source: European Environment Agency (2012)

12. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 12 Walking and forests for health walking in forest environments = beneficial to heart health and blood pressure. walking activity in an urban environment does not produce the cardiovascular improvements of walking in a forested environment. these findings have major implications for how we view exercise and its place in the modern urbanised world. Source: Li (2011) European Journal of Applied Physiology 111: 2845-2853.

13. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 13 It might just lower your blood pressure… Blood measures: The natural fragrances of trees (phytoncides) are speculated to partially contribute to reduction in blood pressure during walking in a forest park (Dayawansa, 2003; Li, 2011). Various factors of walking in a forested park contribute to lowering sympathetic nerve activity and increasing parasympathetic nerve activity, therefore positively influencing blood pressure (Li, 2011). Urban areas didn’t produce the same result.

14. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 14 CO-BENEFITS OF GREEN SPACE PLANNING DESIGN ENVIRONMENT

15. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 15 Green Space and the Quality of the Environment Reduces flooding – 1.3 million trees catches 7 billion tons of rainwater /yr Reduces noise – Belt of trees lowers noise by 6–8 decibels for every 30 metres width of woodland Reduces pollution –1.3 million trees remove 2535 tonnes of pollutants from the air/ yr Over one year a mature tree will take up about 22 Kgs of CO 2 from the atmosphere, and in exchange release O 2. Reduces urban ‘heat islands’ –10% more green cover in urban areas stabilises temp 1°C above current levels despite global warming.

16. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 16 Urban heat: Fight it with green! Over next 70 years: –if green cover is  by 10 %, urban temperatures could  by 8.2 °C above current levels. But,  the urban green cover by 10% = restrict temp  to only 1°C. Source: European Environment Agency (2012)

17. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 17 Co-benefits of greenspace Reduce costs associated with maintaining urban infrastructure by: lessening flooding suppressing dust cooling hot areas reducing wind-speeds and storm damage Bringing greenspace back into urban areas also bolsters urban habitats, increasing biodiversity and enhancing ecological connectivity (Byrne and Sipe 2010)

18. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 18 Active and passive in Greenspace Active and Passive Open Space Active recreation - intensive management, maintenance, and high costs; sometimes privatised; equity issues Passive recreation – emphasis on open space component of park, allows for preservation of natural habitat –Requires little management, low cost Passive - reduces the burden of managing active recreation facilities & developed infrastructure How to ensure it gets proper attention in planning schemes?

19. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 19 Call to Action Prioritise efforts to improve access to well-designed green places and spaces through intelligent urban design, planning, management and green infrastructure strategies.

20. ©2010 National Heart Foundation of Australia Name of presentation in footer Slide 20