UNSW Sydney study: Neighborhoods with more trees have healthier hearts.

UNSW Sydney study: Neighborhoods with more trees have healthier hearts.

Heart disease is less likely to happen in cities with more green space, and more trees are the key.

Every day in the park keeps the doctor away... A new study from UNSW Sydney, which was published in Heart, Lung, and Circulation, shows how different types of urban green space affect heart health.

Studies have shown that having green space nearby lowers the risk of heart disease by encouraging physical activity, lowering stress, and reducing the effects of too much heat and air pollution. Good green spaces can also make people feel less alone, which is good for their heart health. But people don't know much about which kinds of green space, like tree cover or grassy open spaces, are important.

Co-Directors of the Population Wellbeing and Environment Research Lab Professor Xiaoqi Feng of UNSW and Professor Thomas Astell-Burt of the University of Wollongong led this research (PowerLab).

Over 100,000 Australian adults who lived in apartments or houses took part in the study. They looked at the green space nearby as well as hospitalisation and death data from the past 10 years.

Prof. Feng, who is also an Honorary professorial Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health, said, "We were interested in where Australians live and what kind and how much green space might affect people's hearts."

Health benefits for the people who live there

The study found that people who lived in houses and had access to green space were less likely to die from heart disease. But not all green space was good for your health. More tree canopy, but not open grass, was linked to these health benefits.

Prof. Feng said, "We found that people who live in houses are more likely to benefit from living closer to trees and tree canopies, especially for their hearts." "This could lower the chance of having a heart attack or dying from heart disease."

What makes trees better for our health? The people who wrote the study have a few ideas. For example, trees provide shade and lower temperatures, which make streets and parks more inviting places to spend time.

Strange results for people who live in apartments

It's interesting that green space wasn't linked to better heart health for people who lived in apartments. Again, the people who wrote the study say that there may be more than one reason, but that more research needs to be done in this area.

"One reason is that apartments tend to be close together and may even be full. "So you can see that if you plant the same number of trees in a low density area and then in a high density area, the ratio of trees to people changes," Prof. Feng said.

"Also, even if there is some green space in or around your apartment building, it's usually not a place you can go or want to go, or a place you would let your kids play. It's there to check a box, but it doesn't have many things that would make people want to spend time there.

Planning cities to make communities healthier

The world is becoming more aware of how green space affects health. In places like the US and Canada, more and more doctors are telling their patients to go outside and spend time in nature. This is called a "park prescription."

With climate change and cities getting more crowded, green space is also more important than ever in planning for cities. Prof. Feng's research helped the City of Sydney come up with a $377 million plan in 2021 to plant 700 new trees every year for 10 years and reach 40% green cover by 2050.

"This research is important for Australia, where cities like Sydney and Melbourne are growing quickly, and for the rest of the world... Prof. Feng said, "We should learn more about what kind and how much green space we should have around every apartment building so that everyone can enjoy nature."

"We need to make sure that our urban planning works with the trees that are already there and improves the quality of green spaces with the help of the community so that current and future generations can thrive."