WHO report on benefits of urban green and blue spaces to boost health - May 2023

A growing body of evidence demonstrates the potential of urban green and blue spaces to generate better health and well-being. Better quality spaces are linked to better human health outcomes, and poorer quality spaces to poorer ones.

Requested by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, and authored by experts at the University of Exeter, a new review is entitled ‘Assessing the Value or Urban Green and Blue Spaces for Health and Well-being’. It is written by academics from the University’s European Centre for Environment and Human Health- (ECEHH), which is the WHO Collaborating Centre on Natural Environments and Health. The report outlines the health and well-being impacts (both benefits and risks) of urban green and blue space that might contribute to assessments of its value; and presents methodologies that policy-makers and practitioners can use to value these impacts.

Co-Author Dr Tim Taylor from ECEHH commented: “Space in urban areas is limited and competition over its usages is growing. Understanding and valuing the multi-functional benefits and risks of urban green and blue spaces may support better decision-making about the allocation of resources to protect or enhance such spaces. In the report we introduce topics relating to freshwater systems; air quality; coasts, seas and oceans; soil, agriculture, nutrition and food security; infectious diseases emerging from human–wildlife interaction; microbial diversity; medicine and health care; and green and blue spaces. Whilst we discuss these topics independently they are inherently interlinked.”

There are a number of methods to assess urban green and blue space value, which the report highlights. It recommends using existing tools to quantitatively and qualitatively value the health benefits to help to inform better policy.

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University of Exeter Medical School News

Date: 31 May 2023