URBAN GREENING, HUMAN HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

Abstract

Human health and well-being are inextricably linked to the quality of their surrounding environmental conditions. In cities, the predominantly artificial settings that encompass urban inhabitants are critiqued through global rankings of ‘livability’ and quality of life. Cities are given low marks for detrimental attributes-such as air pollution and water contamination-which correlate to adverse health clusters in their respective populations (van Kamp and Leidelmeijer, 2003). Beyond urban boundaries the capacity for ecosystem services to sustain and enhance the global population’s well-being and health is now in question. Of nine fundamental Earth system processes, human activity has already..