More trees and fewer cars can improve mental health for city residents

IN Barcelona, the policy of developing green, planted areas reserved for soft mobility seems to be having a positive impact on the mental health of the city's residents. This has encouraged the municipality to continue to extend these zones throughout the city.

As well as being the colour of hope, green also seems to be a color that can promote good mental health. At least, so suggest the findings of the first feedback and a recent study on the 'green axes' that have been developed in the Catalan capital for several years.

Originally, these zones were created to make certain streets calmer, quieter and less polluted. The idea was to redesign intersections and parking spaces, turning them into bike paths, playgrounds and small neighborhood squares. The aim was that no one in a given area should be more than 200m from a green space. Except for emergency vehicles and residents, cars are no longer allowed in these zones and must divert around them.

A first survey in 2021 reported that inhabitants of these neighborhoods felt more relaxed and took advantage of the calm to interact more with each other, thus reducing feelings of isolation, in addition suffering less from the pollution associated with automobile traffic.

Now, a study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), published in Environment International, corroborates these impressions and further highlights the benefits of the entire "green axes" program underway in the city on the mental health of residents.

Each year, the initiative could prevent an estimated 14% of cases of self-perceived poor mental health, and reduce by 13% the number of visits to mental health specialists. It could also reduce the use of antidepressants by 13% and sedatives by 8%.

For those in charge of the project, the link between these virtually car-free green spaces and positive mental health impacts is now evident. It should be noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) has also already highlighted the health benefits of urban green spaces.

Today, Barcelona wants to move forward with its major urban transformation plan, with the aim of providing its residents with wider sidewalks, more vegetation with the planting of new trees, and more spaces for socialising and entertainment, giving priority to cycling and public transport. Through this, the municipality hopes to make the city both greener and healthier, for the well-being of all. – ETX Daily Up, April 22, 2023