Nature refreshes, revives and promotes health

The health benefits derived from nature and green zones is a hot topic within European urban policy discourse. The green infrastructure projects within the Academy of Finland’s Research Programme on the Future of Living and Housing (ASU-LIVE) endeavour to determine how natural environments might promote health within the residential environments of the future. The stress-reduction properties that are characteristic of green infrastructures are being studied jointly with Japanese researchers.´

The Lime tree (Tilia) is one of Liisa Tyrväinen’s favourite trees. The professor gets to enjoy several handsome Lime trees outside her Metla office in Vantaa.

The vast amount of forests and waterways in Finland means that forests have always been a natural part of the Finnish cityscape. Opportunities to enjoy nature and outdoor recreation have also long been within reach of most urban residents as well. Lately, the familiar and beloved green zones in the cities are, one after another, being swept beneath or in danger of being buried underneath new residential housing – despite abundant protesting by residents.

“There is currently a clear trend in Finnish growth centres by which the natural environs are being covered over to make way for dense construction. As nature is withdrawing further away from an urbanising housing environment, people will soon be forced to drive out of the city in order to enjoy any type of outdoor recreation in natural surroundings," claims Liisa Tyrväinen, Professor of Nature Tourism, who works for the Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla) and the University of Lapland.

“It’s vital to nurture our natural environment as a promoter of health and wellness, but this isn’t happening since we still don’t have sufficient information or a concrete understanding of its actual impacts.  Along with the process of urbanisation and city planning that favours dense construction, it’s becoming ever more important to understand the ways in which green infrastructures affect the well-being of city residents,” Professor Tyrväinen says.

Spurred on by our natural surroundings

The green infrastructure projects within the ASU-LIVE research programme are founded on nationwide survey materials collected in previous years. Together with the National Institute for Health and Welfare, we are now gathering new data on the environmental expectations and health status of residents, as well as on their experiences related to the green areas and how they utilise them. The aim is to process and crystallise the gathered data for city planners, in order to facilitate their abilities to take these values into consideration when planning regional matters that will have an impact on the living environment of entire generations.

Spending time outdoors in natural environs or man-made green zones promotes health by reducing stress and   stimulating the mind.

Green infrastructure research is becoming more important as immobility, diabetes, stress, depression and obesity continuously rise within the Western countries. All of these issues can be, to some extent, prevented and treated by undertaking regular physical activity, especially in outdoor areas. In accordance with earlier international studies, people who live amidst green areas are more healthy than those who lived in crowded residential environments.

Many Finns have already mastered the management of their own health by spending time in a cottage environment, hiking and moving in the forests to gather mushrooms and berries. Natural recreations are a great way to maintain one’s condition, since wandering among the trees is one way to get a workout, nearly without even noticing.

“Green areas are also ideal for social interactions and activities. Problem districts in Malmö, Sweden, witnessed a positive change when they initiated a programme of urban farming, an activity that brought entire families together. It resulted in a clear reduction in vandalism by youth,” states Tyrväinen. 

Japan places emphasis on the aesthetic value of forests

Liisa Tyrväinen is involved in both of the green infrastructure projects within the ASU-LIVE research programme. One of them is being carried out jointly with Japanese researchers from the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute in Japan, Chiba University and the Nippon Medical School. The University of Tampere and the National Institute for Health and Welfare are also involved in both projects. There are a total of twelve researchers in the Finnish research group.

“For a decade already, Japanese researchers, including medical researchers, have been working on studying the physiological impacts of the recreational use of the forests on stress hormones, blood pressure and heart rate. In Finland, research has focused on the psychological effects of recreation in natural environs through survey studies using environmental psychology methods. The aim is now to combine our forces and develop methods for assessing both the physiological and psychological effects simultaneously.

The forest effectively revives body and soul

Field tests in Finland are being carried out in three sites in Helsinki, whereby the control site is located in the nuclear centre of the city, and the urban nature sites are set within parks and the forest. Voluntary test subjects, aged 18-70, sit in the vicinity of the test points for fifteen minutes and then walk for half an hour. During the test, changes in their blood pressure and pulse are measured, as well as the secretion of stress hormones and changes in mood.

The Finnish-Japanese joint research project strives to use the measurements to clarify the way in which different urban environments rejuvenate a person after a working day.

“An earlier study, which was funded by the Academy of Finland and implemented in Helsinki and Tampere, showed that forests and natural environments are more rejuvenating than constructed green infrastructures,” states Tyrväinen.

Text and photos: Suvi Ruotsi