Tag: Benefits of Nature


Healthy Systems, from Cells to Cities

Urban ecosystems include all the structures and functions around us: playgrounds and offices, highways and sanitation facilities, private backyards and urban wildlife, even you and your immune system. Cultivating a low stress lifestyle amongst all this bustling life can be challenging. Public parks and street trees in your neighborhood contributes to not only a healthy urban…

Constructing a Happy City: An Interview with Charles Montgomery

Charles Montgomery will be the first to admit to you that he did not start off as an urban planner or a neuroscientist. He started his journey that led to his most recent book, Happy City, as a curious journalist wanting to learn more about what it means to be happy and how our environment,…

Open Voices News Roundup: January 6

Every week, we bring you the latest news in placemaking, landscape architecture, the nature-mental health link, and much more. Check back each week for new roundups and items. Urban Nature: How to Foster Biodiversity in World’s Cities “A few years ago in Baltimore County, Maryland, environmental staffers were reviewing a tree-planting proposal from a local…

Open Voices News Roundup: December 16

Every week, we bring you the latest news in placemaking, landscape architecture, the nature-mental health link, and much more. Check back each week for new roundups and items. ‘Wild Urbanism’ in the Middle of Putin’s Moscow “Just beyond Moscow’s Red Square, past the iconic domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral and the walls of the Kremlin,…

Mayors for Parks Coalition: Protecting Public Spaces

From Denver, CO to Fort Worth, TX, a new bipartisan coalition is on the rise to help support and protect public parks, trails and green spaces in urban areas. The Mayors for Parks coalition, a project from the City Parks Alliance, is aiming to remind Congress and the White House how critical parks are to…

Open Voices News Roundup: December 9

Every week, we bring you the latest news in placemaking, landscape architecture, the nature-mental health link, and much more. Check back each week for new roundups and items. Doctor’s orders: Get outside! “We all know the drill: Get sick. Go to the doctor. Receive a prescription for medicine. Take the medicine until you feel better….

Recommended Reading: First National Study of Urban parks and Physical Activity

How does your proximity and use of local parks contribute to your health? City Parks Alliance and the RAND Corporation will be investigating that question over the next four years in hopes of establishing a set of best practices when it comes to managing urban parks and encouraging physical activity. The study will include 200…

Recommended Reading: A New Class of Earth Explorers

Though there are many technological temptations keeping kids indoors, more outdoor education programs are emerging across the country to help children learn about their natural surroundings. The Earth Explorers program based out of 10 different community centers around the city of Rochester, NY is one such program that runs weekly activities for children year round…

Open Voices News Roundup: December 2

Every week, we bring you the latest news in placemaking, landscape architecture, the nature-mental health link, and much more. Check back each week for new roundups and items. How San Francisco Is Changing the Way People Think of Green Space “Tables and chairs sit neatly arranged on a wooden platform in the heart of San…

Open Voices News Roundup: November 25

Every week, we bring you the latest news in placemaking, landscape architecture, the nature-mental health link, and much more. Check back each week for new roundups and items. Expert Urges Following Nature in Urban Design “To be friendly to the earth, cities like Portland can learn from it. That was the message of a Nov….

"Peace. Love. Health. Joy. Safety. Serenity. Prosperity. Contentment. All are mine as I walk the ThanksGiving Place labyrinth. I am drawn back again and again."

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