As the flowers blossomed during the spring of 2013, The British Broadcasting Company published an article stating that green spaces can boost the well-being of urban dwellers. According to Centre of Addiction and Mental Health, mental health "involves finding balance in all aspects of your life: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually". The BBC article supported its argument with a research led by Dr Matthew White that entailed surveying 10,000 adults between 1991 and 2008 as they moved to different locations. The participants self-reported that their well-being was higher when they were surrounded with green space versus when they were not (British Broadcasting Company News, 2013). While this paper agrees with this finding, we will also stress on the importance on the indirect effects of green spaces on our health. .
Many would agree, from an upstream perspective that our environment has an important impact on our health. According to the Moving to Opportunity study, when low-income families moved to less distressed communities, adults had improved physical and mental health, and although children did not report any changes in their physical health, improvements were shown in their mental health (Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing Demonstration Program, 1994). Furthermore, The Stress Process Model shows that our mental health is a result of the interaction between neighborhood characteristics and the individual characteristics (Pearlin, 1989). Therefore to lead a healthy life, we must surround ourselves with a healthy urban area, that The World Health Organization defines as (WHO, 1991):.
- Clean and safe.
- Stable and sustainable ecosystem.
- Consisting of a non-exploitative community.
- Having a high degree of participation and control by inhabitants over decisions affecting.
- Having access to a wide variety of experiences and social and culture resources.
