The link between open green spaces and healthier living has long been felt by those lucky to live in green suburbs where open spaces and trees are more important than grey concrete.
A new five-year research project entitled Greener Cities Healthier Lives is aiming to now prove this theory. [1]
Key to the vision of Catherine Park is the delivery of an estate where community spaces are abundantly green and there to be enjoyed by everyone, contributing to the overall lifestyle of Catherine Park Estate.
Associate Professor Astell-Burt, a green space and public health researcher leading the project, said the rapid urbanisation of the global population has resulted in large, often sprawling and mostly grey cities with people living in medium-to-high rise buildings with little greenery nearby.
“Parks are great places to be physically active and meet with friends and family, both of which we already know are important for our health,” he said.
“But we also theorise that green spaces help provide places where we can find relief from the noise and air pollution associated with heavy traffic in our cities, as well as locations to relax and recuperate from stressful things that occur daily in our lives.”
Dr Xiaoqi Feng, also leading the research, said the new project brings together many senior and junior researchers to explore several important questions for the first time in Australia.
“With prior evidence including our own suggesting that exposure to greenery helps us feel well and live longer, healthier lives, this suggests that green spaces do more than ‘pretty up’ our neighbourhoods,” she said.
Open green spaces provide a wide range of advantages to a community such as formal and informal sport and recreation and preservation of natural environments. Retaining, landscaping and incorporating bushland into the development has always been a major part of the vision of Catherine Park Estate, cleverly designed to ensure it will make optimum use of space. Green space will continue to be a key consideration as Catherine Park grows, where lifestyle and access to the outdoors are key to building a healthy and happy community.
[1] https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/new-links-between-green-space-healthier-lifestyles/