New study: Green spaces reduce the health gap between rich and poor

Photo by Henry Domke, Henry Domke Fine Art

Correction! First, there’s a correction in the first paragraph of the last post about the Bloedel Reserve, so if you read it yesterday or earlier today, please take another look (just scroll down).
Now for today’s news: The BBC News article “Green spaces reduce health gap” describes a new study published in The Lancet. The gist: Even small parks and other green spaces in urban areas can reduce the “health gap” between rich and poor, reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other health problems. 

Drs. Richard Mitchell of the University of Glasgow and Frank Popham of the University of St. Andrews (both in Scotland) said: “The implications of this study are clear – environments that promote good health might be crucial in the fight to reduce health inequalities.” Click HERE to link to the full article (“Effect of exposure to natural environment on health inequalities: an observational population study.” The Lancet, Volume 372, Issue 9650, pp. 1655-1660). 

Dr. Terry Hartig of the Institute for Housing and Urban Research at Uppsala University in Sweden commented on the study in the same Lancet issue, which you can read part of (or all of if you register) by clicking HERE. Hartig said: “This study offers valuable evidence that green space does more than ‘pretty up’ the neighbourhood – it appears to have real health effects on health inequality, of a kind that politicians and health authorities should take seriously.”