Open space impacts to public health

Margaret Keithline was a summer 2018 fellow at Boston Harbor Now through the Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action. She researched the impacts of open space on the physical and mental health of residents. She is now completing her junior year at Boston College.

The density in many urban areas is rapidly increasing, and Boston is projected to grow to a population of almost 760,000 people by the year 2030. In light of increasing density and competition for land, the value of urban open space must be examined in connection with public health. Growing cities like Boston are experiencing a disparity in the funding and quality of green spaces in lower-income neighborhoods, and research has found that perceived proximity can play a more significant role than objective proximity. Yet, history has taught us that increasing urban open space can change the socioeconomic makeup of a neighborhood, through increased housing costs and property values, thus displacing the community residents the green space was designed to benefit. Despite its complexities, promoting equity and inclusion in public health and open space must be a key area of focus for existing research and action moving forward. And designing urban spaces, such as parks and trails, that take into account the relevance of human health must become a primary undertaking for urban design.

Researchers in the field of public health have found that there is strong evidence to link physical activity and physical health to the presence and proximity of parks to an individual’s residence. A 2009 Canadian study found there to be a significant link between the number of parks within one kilometer of study participants’ homes and rates of physical activity. Similar conclusions have been drawn on improved mental health after spending time in open spaces. A study by researchers at the University of Exeter’s European Center for Environment and Human Health found that self-rated life satisfaction, measured over an 18-year period, was greater for individuals living in urban areas with a greater percentage of green space, in addition to lower rates of mental distress. So if we know that open space can impact physical and mental, how can Boston best move forward to use this research as a base when designing more open spaces?

An example of where this could be applicable is East Boston. East Boston’s proximity to the waterfront offers many opportunities for open space engagement, yet the advantage of existing open space resources does not appear to have been fully realized for health benefits. East Boston currently has 5.33 acres of open space per 1,000 people, significantly below the city average of 7.59 acres per 1,000 people. East Boston also continues to grapple with a number of health indicators that are less prevalent in most other neighborhoods in Boston. The neighborhood had by far the highest rate of heart disease mortality in 2015, with an average of 26.7 more deaths per 100,000 residents than the second most prone neighborhood, Charlestown. Additionally, only 15.5% of adults in East Boston meet CDC guidelines for physical activity, the lowest of all Boston neighborhoods. Recognizing the social significance of open space and the role it can play in physical and mental well-being, reinvestment in and increased attention to existing and potential open spaces in East Boston is one way to improve public health.

The East Boston Greenway has the potential for increasing access and engagement by expanding access points and connectedness to other East Boston parks. As many of the parks are on the edges of the neighborhood, the Greenway offers greater connection and open space for the central portions of the neighborhood, but more work can be done to provide amenities that encourage more residents to use the space for exercise or relaxation, rather than as a space for travel between two places. There is also potential for increasing connectivity to the water, or “blue space,” in East Boston. Though Chapter 91 regulations ensure that the fractured Harborwalk will soon become more connected, largely due to private development, an emphasis on amenities and direct water access is vital to health and substantive engagement with open space.

The ability to leverage open space to address specific community health concerns is incredibly important, particularly in addressing long-time neighborhood health issues, including low activity rates and high heart disease mortality in East Boston. There are a number of projects underway–including a new neighborhood plan–and future opportunities for space and programming that target specific health indicators. However, it is more so a matter of the level of priority that health concerns play in the design and development of open space, and the degree to which future projects are inclusive, that will determine the impact on health indicators of concern in East Boston.

1. City of Boston. New affordable housing goals aim to add 69,000 new unis by 2030. https://www.boston.gov/news/new-affordable-housing-goals-aim-add-69000-new-units-2030
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5. East Boston Open Space and Recreation Plan (2015) Boston Parks and Recreation Department, Section 7.
6. Health of Boston 2016-2017, Boston Public Health Commission, Chapter 8: Chronic Disease
7. Health of Boston 2016-2017, Boston Public Health Commission, Chapter 8: Chronic Disease
8. Featured Greenway: East Boston Greenway, Emerald Network, Greenway Stories. Retrieved from: https://www.emeraldnetwork.info/featured_greenway_east_boston_greenway