Fast Fact Library

At least 40% canopy coverage is needed to achieve the maximum cooling effect of trees in offsetting the urban heat island effect at the scale of a typical city block, according to this University of Wisconsin...

Ziter, Carly D., Eric J. Pedersen, Christopher J. Kucharik, and Monica G. Turner. “Scale-Dependent Interactions between Tree Canopy Cover and Impervious Surfaces Reduce Daytime Urban Heat during Summer.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116, no. 15 (2019): 7575–80. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1817561116

Sites with inexpensive community-driven design interventions like colorful crosswalks and greenery in concrete lanes may be associated with higher levels of happiness, more trust in strangers, and greater sense of...

Negami, Hanna R., Robin Mazumder, Mitchell Reardon, and Colin G. Ellard. “Field Analysis of Psychological Effects of Urban Design: a Case Study in Vancouver.” Cities & Health 2, no. 2 (2018): 106–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2018.1548257

A study of data provided by 575 Australian mothers with a child between the ages of 2 and 5 indicated that outdoor play time was positively associated with cooperative and easy-going social skills along with...

Hinkley T, Brown H, Carson V, Teychenne M (2018) Cross sectional associations of screen time and outdoor play with social skills in preschool children. PLoS ONE 13(4): e0193700. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193700

Improved hydraulic performance for designed detention ponds and treatment wetlands may be achieved by the placement of island clusters near the inlet, according to a study using scaled physical models. The models...

Balderas Guzman, Celina, Samantha Cohen, Manoel Xavier, Tyler Swingle, Waishan Qiu, and Heidi Nepf. “Island topographies to reduce short-circuiting in stormwater detention ponds and treatment wetlands.” Ecological Engineering 117 (2018): 182-193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2018.02.020.

Areas of urban forest can contain as much carbon in above-ground biomass as similarly sized areas of tropical rainforest, according to a LiDAR analysis of trees in the London Borough of Camden.

Wilkes, Phil, Mathias Disney, Matheus Boni Vicari, Kim Caleders, and Andrew Burt. Estimating urban above ground biomass with multi-scale LiDAR. Carbon Balance Manage 13, 10 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-018-0098-0.

People living in urban environments with higher walkability, better availability of public transport, and more parks were found to be active on average 68 to 89 minutes more per week than people living in less...

Sallis, James F., Ester Cerin, Terry L. Conway, Marc A. Adams, Lawrence D. Frank, Michael Pratt, Deborah Salvo, Jasper Schipperijn, Graham Smith, Kelli L. Cain, Rachel Davey, Jaqueline Kerr, Poh-Chin Lai, Josef Mitás, Rodrigo Reis, Olga L. Sarmiento, Grant Schofield, Jens Troelsen, Delfien Van Dyck, Ilse De Bourdeauhuij, and Neville Owen. “Physical activity in relation to urban environments in 14 cities worldwide: a cross-sectional study.” Lancet 28; 387 (2018): 2207-17. https://doi.org10.1016/S0140-6736(15)01284-2

Greater exposure to plants, particularly of diverse and native species, may support immune health. In a study of nearly 50,000 children in New Zealand, children who were exposed to more vegetation were 6% less...

Geoffrey Donovan, Demetrios Gatziolis, and Jeroen Douwes. “Vegetation diversity protects against childhood asthma: results from a large New Zealand birth cohort.” Nature Plants. 4(6): 358-364 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-018-0151-8

Access to green space for urban-dwelling women may be associated with lower risk of breast cancer. A study of 1,129 breast cancer cases and 1,619 controls throughout 10 Spanish provinces indicates that the closer a...

O’Callaghan-Gordo C., M. Kogevinas, M. Cirach, G. Castaño-Vinyals, N. Aragonés, J. Delfrade, T. Fernández-Villa, P. Amiano, T. Dierssen-Sotos, A. Tardon, R. Capelo, R, Peiró-Perez, V. Moreno, A. Roca-Barceló, B. Perez-Gomez, J. Vidan, A. Molina, M. Oribe, E, Gràcia-Lavedan, A. Espinosa,  A. Valentin, M. Pollán, MJ Nieuwenhuijsen. (August 2018). Residential proximity to green spaces and breast cancer risk: The multicase control study in Spain (MCC-Spain). International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2018.07.014.

Wildlife crossings not only protect wildlife, they also promote human safety. A study of a Colorado State Highway showed an 86% reduction in the number of animal carcasses found along the highway and a 70% decrease...

Julia Kintsch et al., “State Highway 9 Wildlife Crossings Monitoring – Year 2 Progress Report,” Colorado Department of Transportation (March 2018): i-ii.