Dr Naomi Tutticci
Recently, social media posted about a successful partnership between The Eden Project and Canary Wharf Group in the United Kingdom (UK). ‘Eden Dock’ is a green spine through the centre of Canary Wharf. As of 2024, six of the UK’s ten tallest buildings are at Canary Wharf, located in a precinct with 20 acres of landscaped parks and gardens (Wikipedia contributors, 2024). This wharf used to be important for trade between the Canary Islands, Spain and the UK. As trade moved away from the port and industry moved to containerised cargo transport, the docks were closed. This led to a redevelopment program for the wharf to combine commercial and residential use. ‘Eden Dock’ is the result of a contemporary program of works to accelerate action to help biodiversity in this urban area and create a green haven within central London.
Greenspace, particularly tree canopies can improve well-being, with associated health benefits such as reduced cardiovascular disease, lower psychological distress (Astell-Burt & Feng, 2019) and reduced allergic respiratory conditions (Nguyen et al., 2021). But with increasing urban densification, biodiversity decreases and health and wellbeing are impacted (Theodorou, 2023).
Built environments create an urban heat island effect, increasing day and nighttime temperatures (Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing [AIHW], 2024). With rising heat in city centres, populations are at increased risk of heat stress. This coupled with climate change-induced increases in average annual temperatures, the health of both humans and the planet is impacted.
‘Green space’ is an umbrella term that loosely includes any natural or open space, encompassing urban green space, private and community gardens, public land, bush and forests (Nguyen et al., 2021). There are a number of therapeutic benefits of green spaces. For example, coastal locations and rural areas are mentally restorative, and more so than urban green spaces (Nguyen et al., 2021). Traffic noise and air pollution are buffeted by all vegetation types which can reducing stimuli for neurodiverse people (Mears et al., 2020).
Urban planners and public health policymakers, including nurses and midwives need to be aware of the health benefits associated with different types of green space. An improved understanding of how green space can advance both human and planetary health will result in targeted changes to client interventions, and how healthcare professionals engage with greenspaces for their own wellbeing. Moments of restoration can buffer intense workloads (Middleton & Astell-Burt, 2023), and access to green spaces that are designed for this purpose must be invested in for the health and wellbeing of all.
References
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2024). Built environment and health. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/built-environment-and-health
Astell-Burt T., & Feng X. (2019). Association of Urban Green Space with Mental Health and General Health Among Adults in Australia. JAMA Netw Open. 2(7), e198209. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.8209
Mears, M., Brindley, P., Baxter, I., Maheswaran, R., Jorgensen, A. (2020). Neighbourhood greenspace influences on childhood obesity in Sheffield, UK. Pediatr. Obes, 15, e12629. doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12629
Middleton, R., & Astell-Burt, T. (2023). Nurses and nature; Does green space make a difference? Journal of Clinical Nursing, 32(15-16), 4214–4216. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16697
Nguyen, P-Y., Astell-Burt, T., Rahimi-Ardabili, H. & Feng, F. (2021). Green Space Quality and Health: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(11028), 11028. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111028
Theodorou, P. (2023). The effects of urbanisation on ecological interactions. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2022.100922
Wikipedia contributors. (2024, November 2). Canary Wharf. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 04:26, November 11, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Canary_Wharf&oldid=1254998032