Urban planning has evolved significantly since the 19th century, driven primarily by the need to improve the health and well-being of city dwellers. The integration of parks and green spaces has been a central theme in this evolution. However, the understanding and motives behind the creation of urban green areas have changed over the years, impacting their planning and design. A new paradigm shift is emerging that emphasizes how green areas can mitigate climate effects, increase biodiversity and support human health in smart cities.
A research team from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, led by Professor Patrik Grahn together with Professor Erik Skärbäck, Dr Jonathan Stoltz and Dr Anna Bengtsson, has explored these paradigm shifts. His work, published in Encyclopedia, describes the historical and current functions of urban green spaces and proposes a future in which nature-based solutions are an integral part of urban planning.
The first significant change occurred at the end of the 18th century, driven by the need to combat poor living conditions in rapidly industrializing cities. Parks and green spaces were introduced to provide cleaner air and reduce the spread of disease. This was influenced by the miasma theory, which suggested that bad air caused disease. Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted was a key figure in this movement, advocating the creation of healthy landscapes to improve public health.
In the 20th century, the paradigm changed again with the rise of modernism. This era focused on rational design, functionality, and the separation of urban areas into zones for living, working, and recreation. Modernist architects such as Le Corbusier championed the idea of ”houses in parks”, promoting large green areas in urban environments. However, this approach also led to increased car traffic and longer commutes, presenting new challenges.
Today, cities face the impacts of climate change, such as heat waves and floods. Urban green spaces are now considered crucial to mitigate these effects, improve biodiversity and improve physical and mental health. Research shows that parks with dense tree canopies can significantly reduce urban temperatures and manage stormwater. Additionally, exposure to green areas has been linked to reduced stress, better mental health, and increased physical activity. Researchers emphasize the need for large parks with diverse vegetation, areas with loose and permeable soils for water absorption, and natural biotopes to preserve biodiversity. Additionally, planning should incorporate people's physical and mental health needs, providing spaces for relaxation, physical activity and social interaction.
Professor Grahn said: “Urban green spaces are vital for mitigating climate impacts and supporting public health. “Our research aims to guide the creation of multifunctional green areas that meet diverse needs.”
The new paradigm means a greater understanding of the multifaceted impact that parks and green spaces have on a sustainable urban environment. Future urban planning must take a holistic approach, considering both ecological benefits and human health. The goal is to plan and design a district's parks so that they work together optimally. This considers the size of the green areas, their location in the city, what they should contain and what needs they should satisfy for children, young people and the elderly to promote their health and well-being. Knowledge about how green spaces can best meet this great need is inspired by “blue zones”, areas of the world where an unusually high number of people maintain good health despite being over 100 years old. These spaces are environmentally enriched, satisfying people's needs related to curiosity and stimulation, play, physical activity and social meeting places, but also to rest and recover from a stressful daily life. Research shows that parks can contribute to an enriched urban environment through their diversity of perceived sensory dimensions. In this increasingly complex urban planning and design, where climate effects must be considered, as well as biodiversity and human health and well-being containing an enriched environment, the help of artificial intelligence, AI, may be necessary. A validated model of people's needs in perceived sensory dimensions is currently being developed for use in future planning and design of health-promoting smart urban environments.
In conclusion, Professor Grahn and his colleagues envision a new paradigm in urban planning where green spaces play a multifaceted role. By integrating nature-based solutions, they believe we can create resilient urban environments that improve both ecological sustainability and human well-being. This comprehensive approach not only addresses immediate challenges such as climate change and public health, but also fosters a connection between urban residents and their natural environment. As cities continue to grow and evolve, insights from this study will be crucial in shaping urban landscapes that are both sustainable and supportive of human health, ensuring a better quality of life for future generations.
Magazine reference
Grahn, P., Stoltz, J., Skärbäck, E., and Bengtsson, A. (2023). “Health-promoting nature-based urban planning paradigms.” Encyclopedia, 3, 1419-1438. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia3040102
About the authors
Patrick Grahn is a professor of landscape architecture at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp. He has a master's degree and a doctorate in landscape architecture from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp, and a master's degree in biology from Uppsala University. His research is at the interface of landscape architecture, environmental psychology, and health sciences/medicine. The goal is to develop theory- and evidence-based knowledge about how to plan and design health-promoting environments. It includes both smaller areas, such as gardens and patios in homes, preschools, schools, nursing homes, hospitals and workplaces, and public parks, green areas and forests in and near cities. The research is partly based on practice, in collaboration with architects, medical experts, healthcare workers, etc. in municipalities, nursing homes and preschools, or in the infrastructure of the Alnarp Rehabilitation Garden university, where research on participants with different diagnoses participates in nature-based studies. therapy together with an occupational therapist, physiotherapist, psychotherapist and gardener. The results are used in the development of theories and practical tools in the planning and design of environments that promote health and nature-based therapies. He has conducted research and teaching in this field for several decades. Patrik Grahn created together with his colleagues an international master's course in this field which is taught at the Swedish University of Agriculture in Alnarp.
Erik Skärbäck is professor emeritus of regional planning at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp. He has a master's degree and a doctorate in landscape architecture from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp. Before becoming a teacher, Skärbäck worked as a landscape architect and consultant. During the years 1975-1979 he worked as coordinator of the environmental impact assessment project for the construction of the bridge between Sweden and Denmark. In the years 1979-1985 he was head of landscape planning at VBB Consulting, Southern Region, and in the years 1985-91 he was head of the team of architectural planners, including landscape, and later head of the entire planning department, including traffic and environment. at VBB Consulting, Southern Region. In the years 1992-94, Erik Skärbäck worked as founder and director of VBB/VIAK Consulting, later the Berlin branch of SWECO. As a professor, Skärbäck has worked on the development of planning documents related to green infrastructure for ecological sustainability and human well-being. The Ministry of the Environment of the Swedish Government asked Erik Skärbäck as an expert to prepare a proposal for compensation measures for the loss of environmental values during the years 1997-1999. Skärbäck has long been committed to better urban sound environments and during the years 2005-2017 was a board member of the Center for Sound Environments at Lund University.
Jonathan Stoltz He works as a researcher and professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp. He has a master's degree in cognitive science from Linköping University and a doctorate in physical geography from Stockholm University. He researches and teaches about environmental perception in relation to human health and well-being, focusing on evidence-based planning and design tools at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp. He has worked with different types of landscape analysis and, for example, epidemiological data, linking environmental perceptions with various health and well-being outcomes. He has analyzed the perceived qualities of urban and semi-urban landscapes and forest environments, as well as investigating synergies with other aspects of sustainability, such as biodiversity and food production in urban contexts. Recently, attention has been focused on developing indicators for qualities that promote health and well-being in forests, which will be included alongside other indicators of, for example, biodiversity and timber production.
Anna Bengtsson He works as a researcher and professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp. He has a master's degree in landscape architecture and a doctorate in landscape planning, especially environmental psychology; both from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp. His research focuses on landscape architecture, especially health-promoting outdoor environments and evidence-based design processes. Their work concerns the development and testing of theory and evidence-based models and tools (related to restorative and supportive environments) for use in evidence-based design processes that focus on different patient groups, as well as in outdoor environments that promote the health of people in general. Anna has been a university lecturer since 2005 and has since been a course director and/or examiner for two to five courses a year, as well as a supervisor or examiner for several bachelor's and master's papers a year. Anna is frequently invited as a guest lecturer to other courses at SLU Alnarp, as well as other universities in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. From 2010 to the present, he has increasingly reached outside the academic world, giving lectures, organizing workshops and short courses for staff in architectural offices, town halls, residences and other healthcare centres, as well as for teachers and children in schools.
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