Towns with limited ‘green space’ linked to higher death rates

By Georgia Lambert via SWNS

Blackpool has the third highest death rate anywhere in Europe due to a lack of green spaces, according to a new report.

The iconic Lancashire resort town came only behind Trieste and Turin, both in Italy, in a list of places in Europe with more than 100,000 inhabitants with the highest mortality attributable to a lack of green space.

Researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) in Spain identified the European cities with the highest and lowest rates.

The team analyzed more than 1,000 cities in 31 European countries and concluded that cities in Europe could prevent up to 43,000 deaths each year if they achieved World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations regarding residential proximity to green space.

The figures, published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal, suggest that Elche, a city in south east Spain, recorded the lowest mortality rates, with only 20 percent of their population without the recommended access to green spaces.

But a staggering 73 percent of Blackpool’s population have little to no access to the recommended dose of greenery, according to the findings.

Having access to green spaces is associated with several health benefits and those of us who spend time out in the fresh air can expect fewer mental health problems, a lower chance of developing cardiovascular diseases, better brain function, and a longer life expectancy.

Spending time in nature not only benefits our health and provides us with opportunities for physical exercise and social interaction, but it also helps to mitigate air pollution, heat, and noise levels, all while reducing the planet’s carbon footprint.

Based on a review of the scientific evidence, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that there should be universal access to green spaces.

The global organization also stated that there should be a green space in every home, measuring no more than about a quarter mile from each property.

Based on these guidelines and data collected from previous studies, a team from ISGlobal’s Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative estimated the mortality attributable to a lack of green spaces in 978 cities and 49 metropolitan areas.

To calculate the amount of green space in each city, the study used an indicator technology called a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI).

The team used the NDVI to measure how green an area is by taking into account all types of vegetation - from street trees to private gardens, all captured in satellite snapshots.

Because different types of vegetation vary from city to city and not all of them have the same kind of green spaces available, the team translated the WHO guidelines into a specific NDVI value for each region.

The team then obtained data from an earlier study which was conducted in 2015 to determine the link between natural death rates and green space levels in regards to each city.

Using a health impact assessment methodology and data from an analysis of existing studies on the association between green space and mortality, the scientists were able to estimate the number of deaths from natural causes, which could have been prevented if each city complied with the WHO recommendations.

According to scientists, over 60 percent of the global population has insufficient access to green space, and this lack of access is associated with 42,968 unfortunate deaths.

“Our findings show that green space is very unevenly distributed across European cities with mortality attributable to insufficient exposure to green space ranging from zero percent to 5.5 percent of all-natural deaths, depending on the city," said lead author Evelise Pereira.

“However, the uneven impact is not only between cities but also between different areas within the cities, which puts some people at a disadvantage, depending on which city or neighborhood they live in," she said.

“Too often, green spaces are not close to where people live, and people don’t get the health benefits.”

The list of cities with the highest mortality rates that are associated with a lack of green space includes but is not limited to Blackpool, Athens, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, and Riga.

“This study provides an overview that shows that there is much work to be done in terms of re-greening cities and that the reduction of mortality could be even greater if we were to set more ambitious targets than the WHO recommendations," said Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Director of the Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative at ISGlobal.

“European cities should focus on reclaiming urban land for green space, introducing nature-based solutions such as green roofs and vertical gardens, and other measures such as rerouting traffic, digging up asphalt and replacing it with green space, green corridors, street trees and pocket parks across the board.

“Our study also shows that it is important that green spaces are accessible and close to residences.”

The study included an additional analysis of the percentage of official and public green spaces available, but estimations of the deaths associated with this variable were significantly lower at 17,000 in total.

However, researchers did not consider the presence of 'blue spaces' - such as rivers or beaches - and their possible health benefits were not estimated.