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Green spaces can improve cognitive development in children. A one-year study of 2,593 Barcelona schoolchildren indicated that exposure to green space at home, while commuting, and in schoolyards is associated with...

Payam Dadvand, Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen, Mikel Esnaola, Joan Forns, Xavier Basagaña, Mar Alvarez-Pedrerol, Ioar Rivas, Mónica López-Vicente, Montserrat De Castro Pascual, Jason Su, Michael Jerrett, Xavier Querol, and Jordi Sunyer (June 2015) PNAS 112 (26) 7937-7942. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1503402112

Study participants who went on a 90-minute walk through a natural environment reported lower levels of rumination (repetitive thought focused on negative aspects of the self) than participants who walked through an...

Bratman, Gregory N., J. Paul Hamilton, Kevin S. Hahn, Gretchen C. Daily, and James J. Gross. (2015). Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 201510459.

In a large, international study of urban residents, researchers found that only access to green space and recreational areas made a difference in reducing neighborhood socioeconomic health inequalities, while...

Mitchell, Richard J., Elizabeth A. Richardson, Niamh K. Shortt, and Jamie R. Pearce. (2015). Neighborhood Environments and Socioeconomic Inequalities in Mental Well-Being. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Urban middle school students in Canada were more physically active when their neighborhoods contained undeveloped natural areas with trees but not meadows. For every 5% increase in tree-covered land, there was a...

Janssen, Ian, and Andrei Rosu. (2015). Undeveloped green space and free-time physical activity in 11 to 13-year-old children. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 12(1), 26.

In a study of four urban parks in low-income neighborhoods in San Francisco, the two recently renovated parks saw more than a doubling in the number of visitors and a substantial increase in energy expended by...

Cohen, Deborah A., Bing Han, Jennifer Isacoff, Bianca Shulaker, Stephanie Williamson, Terry Marsh, Thomas L. McKenzie, Megan Weir, and Rajiv Bhatia. (2015). Impact of park renovations on park use and park-based physical activity. Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 12(2), 289-295. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2013-0165

A controlled, randomized trial of 12 low-income New York elementary schools indicates that school gardens can positively contribute to increased physical activity in children. Children at schools that received a...

Nancy M. Wells, Beth M. Myers, and Charles R. Henderson Jr. “School gardens and physical activity: A randomized controlled trial of low-income elementary schools.” Preventative Medicine 69 (December 2014): S27-S33.

An 11-year study of 24 California cities suggests that more compact and connected street networks with fewer lanes on the major roads are correlated with reduced rates of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and...

Marshall, Wesley E., Daniel P. Piatkowski, and Norman W. Garrick. (2014). Community design, street networks, and public health. Journal of Transport & Health, 1(4), 326-340.

Children who play surrounded by elements like logs and flowers show increased levels of physical activity, according to a University of Tennessee study that looked at behavior before and after a traditional...

Coe, D. P., J. I. Flynn, D. L. Wolff, S. N. Scott, and S. Durham. (2014). Children’s Physical Activity Levels and Utilization of a Traditional versus Natural Playground. Children Youth and Environments, 24(3), 1-15.

More at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121011135036.htm

A study of 905 Massachusetts middle schools between 2006 and 2012 found that schools with greener surroundings, particularly in the spring, were correlated with higher school-wide performance on standardized English...

Wu, Chih-Da, Eileen McNeely, J. G. Cedeno-Laurent, Wen-Chi Pan, Gary Adamkiewicz, Francesca Dominici, Shih-Chun Candice Lung, Huey-Jen Su, and John D. Spengler. (2014). Linking student performance in Massachusetts elementary schools with the “greenness” of school surroundings using remote sensing.

Green schoolyards can reduce stress, promote resilience, build competence, and promote focusing in students aged 6-18, as shown by this ethnographic study in Maryland and Colorado. The green schoolyards included a...

Chawla, Louise, Kelly Keena, Illène Pevec, and Emily Stanley. (2014). Green schoolyards as havens from stress and resources for resilience in childhood and adolescence. Health & place, 28, 1-13.

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