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Getting people out in these spaces also introduces informal
surveillance, which works to deter crime.
Q: Can these principles make a difference in prisons?
A: Yes, there’s some really cool work with prisons. It turns
out that inmates with views of fields or forests have substantially
fewer sick calls than those inmates looking at
mostly barren prison yards. We’re also seeing a surge in
gardening programs as a form of therapy for prisoners.
Q: Can you say which natural objects have the most impact?
A: As far as we can tell, it matches up pretty well with
people’s intuitive sense of what constitutes nature. The
little research we have comparing
the effects of different
natural features—trees,
grass, etc.—suggests that
trees have an outsized impact.
We know less about
flowers, but signs are that
they are high on the list, too.
Q: What about wildlife?
A: We have less documentation
of this, but it does seem
that anything that makes the
view more absorbing matters.
I think it would be very
interesting to look at the
effects of bird-watching on
older adults.
Q: Do indoor plants
play a similar role?
A: We’re not finding that
they do. In fact, we more
consistently see benefits
from a scenic wall calendar
or a window view of nature
than from an indoor plant.
Q: If an office worker isn’t getting much benefit from her
plant, maybe she needs to get outside. True?
A: Yes, there’s a great deal of evidence to suggest that
getting outside during the day and absorbing some of
the natural world improves our mood and health. As of
now, we don’t have a lot of specifics.
Q: There is considerable discussion these days about youngsters
failing to get outside much, spending long hours in front
of the computer screen and the TV. Do you have any findings
about how that might affect them?
A: We have work involving children with ADHD (Attention
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) that shows that their
symptoms are worse when they play indoors versus in
greener, outdoor spaces. And there’s work on children in
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the general population linking their access to nature with
better concentration and fewer ADHD-like symptoms. I
also believe that unstructured time outdoors is important
in developing children’s capacity to explore, learn risk
management, and become independent.
Q: Are researchers discovering differences based on age,
gender, or other demographic factors?
A: At first we were baffled because boys were not showing
the same effects as girls. But eventually we realized
that the differences might stem from how much time boys
spend in and around their homes. Once we took that
into account, the difference disappeared. So generally
no, we’re not seeing much
demographic variance; it
looks like everyone benefits
from access to nature.
Q: I know you do a lot of
work with the United States
Conference of Mayors and
the City of Chicago. Are
urban residents at a serious
disadvantage because nature
is marginalized in cities?
A: Actually, one of the really
important findings in
this field is that “nature”
doesn’t necessarily mean
“not urban.” The evidence
on nature and human
health is not an argument
for sprawl—not at all. It’s
an argument for creating a
whole hierarchical system
of green spaces in our cities.
This certainly includes
national and state parks
and forest preserves, but it
also includes green urban
environments: tree-lined
streets, window boxes, vest pocket parks, green roofs,
planters, small squares. What research tells us is that we
should weave nature into the urban fabric, and that this
will almost certainly lead to a healthier, better-functioning
citizenry.
Q: As your knowledge of this field has grown, have you
changed your lifestyle at all?
A: Yes, I do pay more attention to how I live my life. I have
a walk home that makes it possible to use my iPhone,
but now I try not to do that so that I can focus more on
the experience of the tree-lined streets. Like most faculty
members, I am trying to juggle a lot of things, and at first
I felt guilty about not using any available moment to catch
up on work, but I’m making that transition. It’s not easy.
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