As the world’s population is drawn to ever-growing cities, the importance of green spaces is increasing. The Global Garden Report from Husqvarna Group confirms that urban green spaces have positive effects on people’s health, stimulate a city’s economy, raise community spirit and further social integration. Maintaining our public green spaces has never been more important.
Rapid urbanization underway, green spaces diminishing. The world is experiencing a rapid urbanization. In 2008, mankind crossed an historic barrier when, for the first time in history, there were more people living in urban areas than in rural. By 2050, it is estimated that over 6 billion people, two-thirds of humanity, will be living in urban environments.
As cities grow denser, green spaces are diminishing. In London they are lost at a rate of two and a half Hyde Parks per year, with the effect that the oxygen levels have gone down. The same trends can be seen in other places in the world, for instance in Ho Chi Minh City where the amount of green spaces has shrunk by half in only 10 years.
“More people in our international study believe that the amount of green spaces in their city has declined over the last 10 years than that it has increased. Similarly, people believe that tomorrow’s cities will contain fewer green spaces rather than more,” says Gunilla Gustavs, head of external communications at Husqvarna Group. “With this report, we at Husqvarna Group want to help raise awareness as to the importance of urban green spaces for our cities.”
The multifaceted health benefits of green spaces. Green spaces have several positive effects on one’s well-being, both physiological and psychological. Hospital patients recover more quickly when they can see trees from their windows, and children living in urban environments without greenery find it harder to concentrate in school. The study from Husqvarna shows that simply being outdoors in green spaces helps reduce stress and anxiety, and also encourages exercise.
A majority of respondents believed that they would exercise more if they had access to good green areas near home or work, Gustavs points out.
As public places that everyone can enjoy regardless of background, parks and green spaces play an important societal role; they make neighborhoods more attractive, they contribute to the community spirit and they actually further social integration.
“Green spaces play an important societal role. In our survey, 87% of all respondents believed that having access to a good green area could have a positive effect on the neighborhood or community spirit, and 61% says that they would pay more for a house or apartment that is near to good green spaces,” says Gustavs.
Maintenance is key. But at the same time, poor maintenance on green spaces can have an opposite effect. Lack of safety, 56%, together with vandalism and poor maintenance, 51%, were the most frequently mentioned reasons deterring respondents from visiting green spaces.
“Green spaces require a more regular upkeep in order to benefit the community. In times of economic turbulence, cities are more hesitant to provide ample funding and support. We must find a way of meeting this challenge. The combination of all of the positive effects that green areas have on a city and its population makes maintaining the green spaces a crucial task for the future,” says Gustavs.
The Husqvarna Global Garden Report 2012 can be found at: http://husqvarnagroup.com/en/press
