Community Green Says Green Infrastructure Offers Psychological Benefits to Families

Green Infrastructure May Be a Tool to Combat Global Warming

NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 4, 2022 / Green infrastructure gives well-needed breaks to parents and children dealing with loneliness and depression. Parenting keeps getting harder. A new survey by SocialProNow finds that 61% of people surveyed say they are lonely. A TODAY online survey conducted in May 2021 found that 83% of moms are feeling burnt out by pandemic parenting, 69% felt overwhelmed, and 83% say they are handling 60% or more of the housework or home responsibilities.

Many parents feel like there is no escape from their incredibly complex lives. However, help for the lonely and overwhelmed may be available by increased access to green space. Major cities, including New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, are using green infrastructure to convert dead urban spaces, like abandoned railways and rarely used corridors and rooftops, into green spaces that invite parents and children outside to commune in the environment. Green spaces provide recreational opportunities for families and access between neighborhoods, which is especially important for residents in low-income areas.

Community Green helps cities implement green infrastructure, including natural systems like green roofs, urban forests, green corridors, and waterways. Founder John Beaudry says, "We create green corridors and green roofs that connect people and provide a healthy dose of nature in our lives."

A paper by UNICEF cites studies that demonstrate women with access to green space in cities have higher birthweight babies. In addition, children with access to green space performed significantly better on tests of balance and motor coordination and tended to engage in more physical activity.

Besides the social and human benefits, green spaces help cool cities and manage stormwater. Community Green's Beaudry says, "green roofs work like giant sponges that absorb enough water to reduce flooding in cities, and the money this saves cities allows developers to incorporate green elements into their plans without increasing costs. And green roofs come with a host of other benefits from reducing heating and cooling costs to replacing lost habitat for wildlife."

At the United Nations global warming conference in November 2021, scientists warned world leaders about the catastrophic impacts of climate change which may begin as soon as 2030. Nations established new goals for cutting emissions from burning coal, oil, and gas that are heating the planet.

Green infrastructure may offer a tool to help cities increase the cooling of buildings. When the surface and air temperatures around buildings decrease, there is a reduction in the energy use associated with cooling, thereby lowering carbon emissions. Community Green says, "The benefits of being in nature are clear. We need to find ways to bring more green space to citizens everywhere."

ABOUT COMMUNITY GREEN

Community Green advocates for green infrastructure, targeting the fifty largest U. S. cities. Cities can implement new requirements and incentives to promote green infrastructure. Strategies for achieving this include lobbying for green solutions, public education, recognizing existing green achievements, creating demonstration projects, and Think Tanks to develop new ideas and collaborations. John Robert Beaudry, the founder, is a landscape artist, speaker, and author of Garden Sanctuary: Designing for Comfort, Wholeness, and Connection. For more information, visit Community Green online or via Facebook.

CONTACT

John Beaudry
[email protected]
619.966.8876

SOURCE: Community Green