Greening urban areas in line with population density and ecological zone can reduce premature mortality
Abstract Urban green space and urban compactness are each important principles for designing healthy, climate-resilient cities. The principles can co-exist, but greening may come at density’s expense if not considered deliberately. Existing studies estimating health impacts of greening scenarios hav...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01803-y |
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| author | Michael D. Garber Tarik Benmarhnia Weiqi Zhou Pierpaolo Mudu David Rojas-Rueda |
| author_facet | Michael D. Garber Tarik Benmarhnia Weiqi Zhou Pierpaolo Mudu David Rojas-Rueda |
| author_sort | Michael D. Garber |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Urban green space and urban compactness are each important principles for designing healthy, climate-resilient cities. The principles can co-exist, but greening may come at density’s expense if not considered deliberately. Existing studies estimating health impacts of greening scenarios have not considered what level of greenness is attainable for different population densities. Here, using the square kilometer as the unit of analysis, we estimate non-accidental mortality that could be prevented among adults older than 30 by greening that small area to a level of greenness assumed to be attainable based on its broader urban area (N = 15,917 globally), population density, and ecological zone. Results suggest a large potential for urban greening even in the most population-dense parts of cities such that on average 54 deaths per 100,000 could be prevented per year in those areas. That estimate may be about 25% higher or lower due to uncertainty in the underlying model. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e6859d92360b47f78c83ae7afe8c049a |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-e6859d92360b47f78c83ae7afe8c049a2025-08-20T02:18:28ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352024-11-015111510.1038/s43247-024-01803-yGreening urban areas in line with population density and ecological zone can reduce premature mortalityMichael D. Garber0Tarik Benmarhnia1Weiqi Zhou2Pierpaolo Mudu3David Rojas-Rueda4Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San DiegoScripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San DiegoState Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of SciencesEuropean Centre for Environment and Health, Regional Office for Europe, World Health OrganizationDepartment of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State UniversityAbstract Urban green space and urban compactness are each important principles for designing healthy, climate-resilient cities. The principles can co-exist, but greening may come at density’s expense if not considered deliberately. Existing studies estimating health impacts of greening scenarios have not considered what level of greenness is attainable for different population densities. Here, using the square kilometer as the unit of analysis, we estimate non-accidental mortality that could be prevented among adults older than 30 by greening that small area to a level of greenness assumed to be attainable based on its broader urban area (N = 15,917 globally), population density, and ecological zone. Results suggest a large potential for urban greening even in the most population-dense parts of cities such that on average 54 deaths per 100,000 could be prevented per year in those areas. That estimate may be about 25% higher or lower due to uncertainty in the underlying model.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01803-y |
| spellingShingle | Michael D. Garber Tarik Benmarhnia Weiqi Zhou Pierpaolo Mudu David Rojas-Rueda Greening urban areas in line with population density and ecological zone can reduce premature mortality Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Greening urban areas in line with population density and ecological zone can reduce premature mortality |
| title_full | Greening urban areas in line with population density and ecological zone can reduce premature mortality |
| title_fullStr | Greening urban areas in line with population density and ecological zone can reduce premature mortality |
| title_full_unstemmed | Greening urban areas in line with population density and ecological zone can reduce premature mortality |
| title_short | Greening urban areas in line with population density and ecological zone can reduce premature mortality |
| title_sort | greening urban areas in line with population density and ecological zone can reduce premature mortality |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01803-y |
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