One of the downsides to living in a populated, urban area is that you can go weeks on end without seeing any green space. Whilst country dwellers revel in wide open spaces and greenery, those in town take the emotional toll of being surrounded by grey buildings and drab colours 24 hours a day.
Fortunately, the wellbeing of urban dwellers is being catered for, as more and more urban green spaces are being created. Those who embrace these new green spaces are doing their mental wellness a great service. In some communities, vacant buildings are even being demolished in order to create space, which local volunteers then painstakingly convert into beautiful community gardens that benefit all in the local area.
A new study, carried out by researchers at the Medical School in the University of Exeter, showed that people who live near green spaces in urban areas benefit from improved mental health, especially when compared to those who live in the city but do not have green spaces nearby.
The study was recently published in Psychological Science journal, where the team of UK researchers discussed socioeconomic factors involved with green spaces in urban areas, using data that they had taken from 10,000 people over the course of 15 years.
The survey basically concluded that those who lived near green spaces enjoyed better mental health than those in built up areas. This data was derived from asking two simple questions of respondents, regarding their wellbeing, how satisfied they were with the course of their lives and whether they had any of the symptoms of anxiety or depression.
Results showed that those within 2.5 miles of a green urban space were shown to benefit with increased mental health.
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