Dr. Amber Pearson

Amber Pearson (Mich State U)

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TITLE
Quantifying the health benefits of nature in cities

ABSTRACT

The last decade has seen mounting evidence to suggest that the presence of natural environments in urban neighborhoods is associated with health benefits. Most of these studies assume that living near a green (eg park) or blue (eg ocean) space renders benefits – including behaviors such as increased physical activity and outcomes including lower blood pressure and improved mental health. However, there are still many gaps in our knowledge in terms of pathways from exposure to health benefit. Often neglected are the potential negative aspects of green/blue spaces. Geography has an important role to play in quantifying visual and auditory exposures to natural environments in order to understand relationships with health. In this presentation, I will review some recent methodological advances I have used to begin to understand visual exposures to nature, highlight findings so far, and conclude with future directions.