Every week, we bring you the latest news in placemaking, landscape architecture, the nature-mental health link, and much more. Check back every Monday for our news roundups.
The Urban Garden as Crime Fighter
“Community gardens have been long-regarded as symbols of neighborhood revitalization, but could a well-tended patch of grass actually help fight crime? A recently published study by the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine suggests the answer may be yes.”
Green Streets Cut Pollution More Than Previously Thought
“A new research study by Professor Thomas Pugh at Lancaster University and other scientists in the UK has found that adding trees, bushes, innovative systems like green walls, or even ivy or other creeping vines, can cut street-level nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and microscopic particulate matter (PM), two of the worst forms of pollution, by eight times more than previously thought. Many urban streets have high levels of these types of pollution, far exceeding healthy amounts for humans.”
Please, Don’t Touch the Nature
“Our environment, we’re told by climate scientists, is fragile. But are children learning that their natural environment — the trees, dirt and grass that surround us — is “fragile,†too? Several educators, after observing years of children’s being taught to “look, but don’t touch,†have argued this summer that many programs and policies designed to protect the natural world are actually preventing a new generation from developing an interest in it.”
Vacant Land in Cities Could Provide Important Social and Ecological Benefits
“In densely populated cities with sometimes few opportunities for new park or green space development, small vacant lots could provide green relief, especially in low-income areas with reduced access to urban parkland.”
Touched By Nature? Share Your Story!
“We are especially looking for stories about how a connection with nature in a hospital or other type of healthcare facility (nursing home, hospice, etc.) helped you, or a friend or loved one, or a client. Whether you are/were a patient, a visitor, a staff member, or a volunteer, if seeing or being in nature has made your life better, we want to hear about it. Or, were you ever in a situation where you or a family member desperately wanted to view or be in a garden or nature, and there was none? We’d like to hear about that, too.”
