The green infrastructure valuation toolkit user guide

Building natural value for sustainable economic development: the green infrastructure valuation toolkit user guide
KNOWLEDGE GAPS
Opportunities for increased exercise and mental health
Further work with some input from a specialist health economist could allow the
development of tools calculating:
net cost saved to the NHS per Quality Adjusted Life Year
direct savings to the NHS from improved health of the local population
from reduction in mental health disorders
direct savings to the NHS from reduced in-patient stays.
Discussions held with Natural England’s specialist health advisor suggest it will
also be important that the toolkit uses appropriate language in the final version of
the tools – for example Quality Adjusted Life Year (QUALY) - so that its credibility
holds with primary care trusts.
Distance to green infrastructure
A significant gap in the research evidence base appears to be the mapping of
increased participation in exercise as a result of local green infrastructure
enhancement, for use within a valuation tool.
Grahn and Stigsdotter’s 2003 research review 84 is helpful as it provides usage
data within a local population in terms of distance bands to green infrastructure.
This is based upon research across nine Swedish cities. It shows that distance to
urban green spaces is associated with amount of use, as well as a statistically
significant relationship between the use of urban open green space and selfreported
experiences of stress.
Improved air quality
Most of the research that has been undertaken in this area is at large scale, and
for example, does not model the impact of a smaller number of urban street trees.
Professor Hewitt at Lancaster University has indicated that work is soon to get
underway using EPSRC funding by a consortium - ‘Urban Futures’ - to look at the
effects of city greening on air quality. This could potentially offer a project-level
valuation tool.
62 Ulrich, View through a window may influence recovery from surgery,
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Department of Health, Let’s Get Moving, September 2009
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Department of Health, Vital signs, operational planning guidance 2008/09-2010/11
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and Donovan, R. J. (2005) Increasing walking: how important is distance to, attractiveness,
and size of public open space American Journal of Preventative Medicine 28 (2 Suppl 2),
169-176.
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National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence, Public health guidance note 8, January
2008
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Cabinet Office Strategy Unit, Health economics model for Game Plan, 2002
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Allender S, Foster C, Scarborough P & Rayner M, The burden of physical activity-related
ill health in the UK. Journal Epidemiology & Community Health, 61:344-8, 2007
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Department of Culture Media and Sports Strategy Unit, Game Plan: a strategy for
delivering government’s sport and physical activity objectives, 2002
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DCMS, Before, during and after: making the most of the London 2012 Games (Legacy
Action Plan), June 2008
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Cohen, D. A., Mckenzie, T. L., Sehgal, A., Williamson, S., Golinelli, D. and Lurie, N.
(2007). Contribution of public parks to physical activity. American Journal of Public Health
97 (3), 509-514.
72
The relationship of physical activity and overweight to objectively measured green space
accessibility and use, Emma Coombes, Andrew P. Jones, Melvyn Hillsdon, Social Science
& Medicine, Volume 70, Issue 6, March 2010, 816-822
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Maas, J. Verheij, R. A., Groenewegen, P. P., de Vries, S. and Spreeuwenberg, P. (2006).
Green space, urbanity and health: how strong is the relation Journal of Epidemiology and
Community Health 60 (7), 587-592.
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Edward O. Wilson, Biophilia, 1984
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Barton, J and Pretty, J, What is the best dose of nature and green exercise for improving
mental health A multi-study analysis. Environmental Science & Technology, 2010
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Grahn P and Stigsdotter UA. Landscape planning and stress. Urban forestry and urban
greening, 2003
77
Tiwary, A., Sinnett, D., Peachey, C.J., Chalabi, Z., Vardoulakis, S., Fletcher, T., Leonardi,
G., Grundy, C., Azapagic, A. and Hutchings, T.R. (2009). An integrated tool to assess the
role of new planting in PM10 capture and the human health benefits: a case study in
London. Environmental pollution 157, 2645-2653.
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