A new analysis of green and mortality found that between 34,000-38,000 deaths could be reduced by the local increase in green vegetation in US urban areas. Increased greening in U.S. urban areas could significantly reduce deaths from all causes, according to a new study led by researchers at Boston University School of Public Health.A national study found that an increase in green vegetation in large, urban areas could prevent between 34,000-38,000 deaths, based on data from 2000-2019. The study also showed that overall greenness in metropolitan areas increased over the past 20 years, by about 3 percent between 2000-2010 and 11 percent between 2010-2019.
Human mortality
The study builds on well-established research on the health benefits of greenery by providing a qualitative value of the potential green city planting programs in human mortality.”We know that living in green spaces can have a positive impact on our physical and mental health, but there is a lack of information on how changes in green distribution could affect mortality rates across the country,” said lead author Paige Brochu. , PhD student in the Department of Environmental Health. “Our study estimates the effect of green vegetation on urban areas and suggests that green vegetation may prolong human life. Policymakers and city planners can use this information to support local climate programs and ensure that those programs include vegetable planting programs.”
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
In the study, Brochu and colleagues used publicly available human data from the US Census, death data from the Centers for Disease Control WONDER system and green data from NASA‘s Landsat satellites to conduct global health impact assessments that measure increased vegetative impact for all reasons. Deaths of adults aged 65 and over in 35 major US states. The study period focuses on three distinct periods between the years 20: 2000, 2010, and 2019. Using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a widely used metaphorical measure of green vegetation, researchers calculated that 34,080 – Death of 38,187 elderly people – or approximately 15 to 20 deaths per 10,000 adults – could have been prevented between 2000-2019 with a 0.1 increase in NDVI in all 35 metropolitan areas.
They estimated that overall greenness increased by 2.86 percent between 2000-2010, and 11.11 percent from 2010-2019, with the largest regional growth seen in the South (from .40 percent in 2000 to .47 percent per year. 2019).Brochu notes that greening is not possible in all cities, due to differences in climate, water resources, urbanization, and the state of the country, but city planners can use research findings to assess local climate change over time and improve appropriate and efficient climate action. plan in their cities.
“Growing vegetation in the arid southwest is different from green vegetation in the Pacific Northwest,” said Brochu. “If local climate makes it difficult to plant green trees, urban planners can use this green data as a starting point and consider other types of plants that may be more realistic in their local climate.”
Way to directly improve health
“One of the key questions urban planners ask is where to invest in planting, and whether we can measure the impact of crop planting programs on them – because there are costs for tree planting campaigns or tree planting,” said senior research author Dr. Kevin Lane, assistant professor of environmental health. “Being able to identify which areas will have the highest mortality rates can justify these campaigns, not just as a reduction, but as a way to directly improve health.”Part of this study also reported a case study on the health effects of unequal green distribution in Louisville, Kentucky, published in the 2020 Lancet Countdown report on climate and health. The case study estimates that a small increase in planting could prevent 400 deaths among adults aged 55 and over in the Louisville municipal area.
Researchers hope to continue exploring local changes in green distribution in all urban areas, and how these changes may inform urban climate applications. This analysis could be repeated worldwide, thanks to satellite-based NDVI estimates, Lane said.
“One of the great benefits of using satellite-based measures is that we can compare health impact assessments in the US with those conducted in Europe and elsewhere, in order to understand the effects of death worldwide,” Lane said. “This work will enable us to estimate how climate change strategy can impact not only in our urban areas, but globally.”At SPH, the study was compiled by Dr. Patrick Kinney, Beverly A. Brown Professor of Urban Health and Dr. Marcia Pescador Jimenez, an assistant professor of epidemiology. The study was also co-authored by Drs. Peter James of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Source Journal Reference:Paige Brochu, Marcia P. Jimenez, Peter James, Patrick L. Kinney, Kevin Lane. Benefits of Increasing Greenness on All-Cause Mortality in the Largest Metropolitan Areas of the United States Within the Past Two Decades. Frontiers in Public Health, 2022; 10 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.841936
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