Humphrey 1 Jameson Humphrey Ms.

Ingram English 1102 March 30, 2013 Health and Nature: What Are Urban Dwellers Losing in the Concrete Jungle?

As with all animals, humans share an unbreakable bond with nature. When taken away from their natural habitat, some animals display destructive behavior such as refusal to eat or reproduce. The human species is unique because it has removed itself from its natural habitat and created cities made of concrete to live in. As human populations move from rural areas to big cities contact with nature on a daily basis is lost. This has been a contributing factor to the rise of mental health problems and other complications that plague our modern urban society. Further integration of gardens, trees, and parks into cities will improve the health and well-being of city dwellers. In addition to the obvious problems of pollution and overcrowding that are commonplace in cities, there are other factors that can prove a detriment to a persons health. A persons mental endurance is pushed to its limit and beyond when in an urban environment. Just as visitors to big cities like New York are awed by its size and bustle, people who live in the city experience this same response. The difference is that it is pushed to the back of the mind and never thought of as damaging. It is true that many people love living in cities for the cultural and intellectual opportunities contained therein. What many dont know is that exposure to urban settings, even for just a moment, alters the way our brains function. As Lehrer says in his article on how the city affects the brain The brain is a wary machine, always looking out for potential threats. Cars, advertisements, pedestrians, stray pets, litter, bad smells, and noise pollution all struggle to command our attention and a persons

Humphrey 2 mind must pick through each stimuli before disregarding it as harmless. This tires the brain and dulls thinking (Lehrer). On the other hand, a stroll through an area filled with plant and animal life has been shown to improve concentration, mood, and work output (Clay). Many people claim that the sound of birds and running water improve the mood and cleanse the mind. From personal experience the fresh air and quiet calm that woods provide to the casual hiker does have soothing qualities. There are different types of attentions being used here: directed attention and fascination. Fascination is associated with nature where no negative responses are triggered while directed attention is caused by stimuli such as a car horn or loudspeaker. Psychologist Steven Kaplan and his wife Rachel claim that Directed attention fatigues people through overuse (Clay). As the city is a concentrated jumble of these directed responses it is needless to say that people who live there are at increased risk for mental complications (Lehrer). Studies have shown that engaging with nature, be it a scenic view from an office window or a casual stroll through a local park, improves the cognitive functions of the brain. This is called attention restoration theory, or ART for short (Lehrer). It is proven that patients recover faster and workers are more productive when given a view of trees from their window as opposed to a brick wall. Studies have even shown that children with disorders such as ADHD even show fewer symptoms when engaging in outdoor activities in a natural environment (Clay). Mental health problems are becoming increasingly prevalent in todays society. The World Bank and World Health Organization report that mental health problems make up ten percent of global disease and these numbers are on the rise (Maller). Besides the obvious genetic and situational circumstances that cause mental diseases, environmental explanations need to be explored. People suffering from over use of directed attention are more susceptible to mental breakdown because of

Humphrey 3 over-stimulation. Environmental changes could be explored as possible solutions for afflicted persons instead of use of drugs or other psychological treatments. In perspective, City dwellers may be living less fulfilling lives than people who live outside urban environments. As said by Frances Kuo, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois, Humans living in landscapes that lack trees or other natural features undergo patterns of social, psychological and physical breakdown that are strikingly similar to those observed in other animals that have been deprived of their natural habitat (University). This can be used to describe the trends of violence and crimes in urban environments. Often the poorest sections of cities are devoid of trees and parks. These areas also suffer the most from crime. Humans living in areas lacking nature are prone to decreased civility more illegal activity, more aggression, more property crime, more loitering, more graffiti, and more litter according to Kuo (University). People are experiencing the effects of alienation from habitat first hand, albeit subconsciously so. It is impossible to predict what further alienation would cause in such a population. In addition, parenting patterns can be disrupted by these barren urban areas (University). Todays society is plagued with mothers and fathers who refuse to take care of their children. This often results in single parent homes, or even the abandonment of children. Think of all the families split by divorce and anger. Many children have never seen one of their parents and many parents believe that child support is just a way out. Abortion and adoption rates continue to rise as our society becomes more concentrated. As population urbanize, more children are left to fend for themselves. As problems with mental health and even physical well-being within the urban dwelling populations begin to rise, measures must be taken to reduce and prevent the stresses caused by such an environment. Simply planting more trees, attracting birds, reducing noise, building more parks, and integrating nature in other ways are viable preventative measures to help reduce the mental stresses

Humphrey 4 caused by cities (Lehrer). The problem is, as an Oxford Journal article so plainly put it, public health strategies are yet to maximize the untapped resource nature provides (Maller). The biggest struggle in reforming cities into greener communities is showing everyday people that the problem exists. For a species that originated in small clans on the African plains, the move to overcrowded cities has been relatively short too short for the species to truly adapt (Lehrer). Forcing this adaptation has caused the aforementioned mental and physical breakdowns of parts of the population. People need to realize how stressful the urban environment really is and not write it off as work stress and such. As with any organism, Humans are part of natures system. When no longer directly connected to this system, humans stop identifying with it (Golley). From this, people start Identifying with the city as their habitat. As the city is a wholly unnatural place (albeit there are some trees) it can be expected that health problems will arise. Even though further urbanization of our society throws the health of many people into question, it is not all doom and gloom. City planning and expansion can be altered in a way that integrates nature into these urban environments. As stated in Timothy Beatleys book Biophilic Cities: Integrating Nature into Urban Design and Planning, The evidence is compelling that frequent exposure to the natural world improves mental health, it offers a deep sense of inner peace, and, in many ways we have only begun to understand by scientific reason, it improves the quality of life (The Dirt). The infusion of walking trails, gardens, and undisturbed natural sanctuaries within the borders of cities will improve the Health of people living in said city. It is important that moves be made as soon as possible and greenery is restored to our cities. While no level of tree planting can restore cities to the natural grace of a forest or meadow, integration of nature in the cities WILL help to combat the rampant problems of mental health that is centered within cities. Not only are natural settings proven to relieve stress and improve work output, the

Humphrey 5 infusion of these landscapes into the urban environment may help to prevent the spread of mental decay in the future.

Works Cited

Bowden, Gary. "From Environmental To Ecological Sociology: Implications on Health." Trans. Array Health and Environment: Social Science Perspectives. Helen Kopnina and Hans Keune. 1. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc, 2010. 123-138. Print.

Clay, Rebecca. "Green is Good for You." American Psychological Association. 32.4 (2001): 40. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. <http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr01/greengood.asp&xgt;.

The Dirt Contributor , . "Taking Nature to the City." Uniting the Built and Natural Environments. (2011): n. page. Web. 12 Apr. 2013. http://dirt.asla.org/2011/03/31/taking-nature-to-the-city/

Golley, Frank. "Deep Ecology From the Perspective of Ecological Science." Trans. Array The Ecology of Health. Jennifer Chesworth. 1. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc., 1996. 30-41. Print.

Humphrey 6 Lehrer, Jonah. "How the City Hurts Your Brain." Boston Globe. 2 1 2009: n. page. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. <http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/01/04/how_the_city_hurts_your_b rain/>.

Maller, Cecily, Mardie Townsend, Anita Pryor, Peter Brown, and Lawrence St Leger. "Healthy nature healthy people: contact with nature as an upstream health promotion intervention for populations."Oxford Journal. 21.1 (2005): 45-54. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://heapro.oxfordjournals.org/content/21/1/45.full>.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Science Suggests Access To Nature Is Essential To Human Health." ScienceDaily, 19 Feb. 2009. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.