Providing public parks, walking and biking trails is the most cost-effective way of increasing physical activity in urban populations, according to a new systematic review in the American Journal of Health Promotion.
Lead author of the report, Virpi Kuvja-Kollner, says that although these interventions can be costly, they have long life spans and have been shown to be effective.
“The main focus in promoting physical activity should be to get people who are not active to get moving instead of just promoting more exercise to those who are already active,” she says. She called for community planners to take into account promoting physical activity by combining walking and hiking trails near public transport.
The benefits of green space are multi-faceted. According to Natural England, green spaces can boost self esteem, benefit those suffering from dementia and make people feel calm, relaxed, refreshed and revitalised. Those living in cities without access to green space, show more signs of depression and anxiety, according to research.
A study from the University of Exeter has even found that living near green space has a more sustained positive impact on mental health than a lottery win.
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This, according to Dr William Bird, founder of Intelligent Health, is because of humans’ innate need for nature. “An absence of nature causes people to feel stressed, which then leads to inflammation of the brain, which makes the body feel under attack and is the cause of all long term Western diseases,” he says. “Nature has a physical impact on us to reduce stress.”
Birmingham City Council is currently working with Dr William Bird to calculate how many people use its parks for health and fitness, to try and access funds from the NHS towards their upkeep and evidence the value of parks when it comes to budgets.
However, there is some way to go before the importance of parks is pushed up the funding agenda. In October, a report by the Local Government Association, said that overstretched councils might have to take funds from discretionary services, like parks, to keep statutory services, such as adult care, afloat in struggling areas.
