Living Near Trees, Not Just Green Space, Improves Wellbeing

Post by andybak » Sat, Aug 03, 2019, 1:05 PM UTC

leonroy wrote: post #178

outworlder wrote: post #7

Unsurprising result. I was so sad (figuratively speaking) when we moved from an older office - but one which had trees all around and even running water - to a very modern, but boring open floor glass paned antfarm-like building. After some time I got literally depressed. Walking around the concreted block did nothing for me anymore. No trees, no water, no birds, no squirrels. Just cars and a lot of heat in the summe…

This is something that bugs me about Old Street/Silicon Roundabout in London. I moved office from the Borough Market area (not exactly the most tree lined part of London) to right near the Old Street roundabout and the lack of greenery, traffic and general noise and density is grim in this part of the city. Despite that it’s the most desirable post code for a tech startup.

Post by learc83 » Sat, Aug 03, 2019, 2:32 PM UTC

jdietrich wrote: post #174

learc83 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article says they controlled for income.

That's not the same as controlling for socio-economic status. A millennial living in a city-center apartment and a boomer living in a paid-up house in the suburbs might have the same income, but they have very different life circumstances and experience very different levels of stress.

Post by graeme » Sat, Aug 03, 2019, 3:40 PM UTC

dahfizz wrote: post #176

rrdharan wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure you’ve explored the whole thing? The crowded lawn is certainly one part of it but there are whole swaths up near 110th that are much quieter as well as large dense tree sections e.g. near the zoo.

Having a couple trees does not make it a forest. have you ever walked out in real nature?

Post by cs02rm0 » Sat, Aug 03, 2019, 4:18 PM UTC

sjf wrote: post #110

quickthrower2 wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

London people are funny. They thing if you are outside of Zone 2 that you are "out in the sticks" (an idiom for "living in the countryside"), make fun of you and desperately want you to want to live in London.

It's not funny, it makes sense. Imagine what would happen if you are living in zone 3+, and your friend/partner lives in zone 3+ on the _opposite_ side of London. You could easily have a 90 minute travel time between those two points. In most places a travel time that long would count as being in another city.

Post by davidjnelson » Sat, Aug 03, 2019, 5:57 PM UTC

jdavis703 wrote: post #112

jnurmine wrote: post #83

Living near trees implies living in an area where space usage is prioritized for nature instead of the stacked concrete boxes most people (have to?) live in. It is likely a less stressful environment overall than places filled with just concrete walls, asphalt and, at best, some grass. Personally I find tree tops swaying in the wind oddly hypnotic and relaxing. I've thought of why... One reason could be that babies a…

Vancouver (and to a lesser extent Seattle, Washington, DC & Atlanta) do a great job mixing the urban forest and density. Many European cities do as well. Living in concrete boxes doesn't mean there has to be a dearth of trees. It's just most North American cities don't really invest in their trees (heck they don't even invest enough in our kids, so trees are pretty far down on the priority list).