Exposure to green spaces is linked with better cardiovascular health and lower rates of mortality.
“We believe our findings have significant implications for urban planning in terms of expanding green infrastructure to promote public health and reduce health disparities.” Kim and colleagues followed more than 900 white and Black people from four US cities – Birmingham, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Oakland – from 1986-2006.
The team constructed statistical models to evaluate the results, and control for other variables, such as education, income, and behavioural factors like smoking, that might have affected the results. “Other factors, such as stress, qualities of the surrounding green space, and other social support, can affect the degree of benefits of green spaces in terms of biological ageing,” said Kim, explaining that the disparities required further study.