Researchers at the Institute of World Health (ISGlobal) in Barcelona published in the medical journal “The Lancet Planetary Health”, (Green space and mortality in European cities: a health impact assessment study, www.thelancet.com) a study based on 2015 data analysis of more than a thousand cities in 31 European countries, which were evaluated and ranked using a key criterion green and its association with the international community in each city.
According to this study, the lower a city is in the International Ranking, the higher the mortality is considered to be due to insufficient access of all its inhabitants to a nearby green area.
The Cities with the highest mortality
The findings of the Study show that the five cities with the proportionally higher mortality due to insufficient green space are respectively Trieste, Turin (Italy) with 74% and 92% of their population respectively having insufficient access to green based on recommendations from the World Health Organization, Blackpool (UK), Gijon (Spain) and Brussels (Belgium).
In addition, among the cities with the highest mortality due to insufficient access to green are several cities in Greece, Italy, Eastern Europe, and the Baltic, as well as capitals with the biggest problem, such as Brussels, Budapest, Athens, Copenhagen, Riga. The researchers stressed that green spaces are associated with multiple benefits for physical, mental and mental health and, consequently, with a longer life expectancy.
Green spaces compensate to some extent for air pollution, heat and noise pollution, while absorbing carbon dioxide, mitigating climate change and facilitating exercise, recreation and socializing. This study used the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NVDI), which uses satellite imagery to include all types of greenery in a city, such as trees in streets and squares, private gardens, parks and more.
It was then estimated how many deaths from natural causes would have been avoided in each city if the municipal authority had managed to comply with the upper limit set by the World Health Organization. The World Health Organization recommends universal access by city dwellers to green spaces, setting as a minimum the existence of a green space of at least half a hectare (5 acres) in a straight line up to 300 meters from each house.
