Every week, we bring you the latest news in placemaking, landscape architecture and urban planning, the nature-mental health link, and much more. Check back each week for new roundups and items.
Can More Trees Cause Healthier Babies?
“Mothers who live in greener areas deliver healthier babies, a new study from Oregon State University shows. Plenty of grass, trees and other green vegetation leads to longer terms and higher birth weights, researchers from OSU and the University of British Columbia found. The findings held true even when results were adjusted for factors such as neighborhood income, exposure to air pollution, noise and neighborhood walkability.”
Urban Farming in Brooklyn: a Return to the Land
“Farming in Brooklyn has come full circle. Obviously, the first people here more than 350 years ago worked the land, and now a new generation of dwellers are doing it, too. Only this time, they are growing food in land wedged between concrete and buildings, infrastructure and roads and and even on top of buildings. It’s a return to the land, but not to land that’s uncharted. In urban areas, back to the land means claiming what is left. And that action, finding and utilizing open space, has defined urban agriculture in Brooklyn and across New York City. And while on one hand, the recent explosion of interest in urban agriculture follows trends in healthy eating, even some experts are shocked by it.”
Design Students Rethink Urban Space for Worldwide (Park)ing Day
“San Francisco State students in the design and industry department organized nine unique installations this year, all of which were geared toward critically examining how we utilize environmental resources. Rebar, an art and design studio based in San Francisco, created the first Park(ing) Day spot in 2005 as a creative response to concerns that the downtown area lacked open space. The project evolved from one parklet, a small space serving as an extension of the sidewalk to provide amenities and green space for people using the street, occupying a single metered spot into an international event with thousands of participants each year. According to a press release from Rebar, the Park(ing) celebration in 2011 included 975 unique installations, spanning across six continents.”
Taking A Walk In Nature Could Be The Best Thing You Do For Your Mood All Day
“When you’re feeling a deluge of negative emotions, you know that it can be helpful to ‘walk it off.’ And according to a new study, there’s evidence to back up the stress-releasing strategy. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan, found that taking group nature walks is associated with a whole host of mental health benefits, including decreased depression, improved well-being and mental health, and lower perceived stress. And the positive effects on mood seemed to be especially strong among people who had recently experienced a traumatic life event, like a serious illness, death of a loved one or divorce. The study, published in the journal Ecopsychology, included 1,991 people who were part of England’s Walking For Health program, which hosts over 3,000 walks each week. Researchers compared people who participated, and did not participate, in group walks in nature.”
