Fast Fact Library

High-quality visible vegetation, such as that seen through a window at home or at work, can provide relief from noise annoyance (feelings of displeasure with unwanted noise) with a similar effect to reducing noise...

Van Renterghem, Timothy. “Towards explaining the positive effect of vegetation on the perception of environmental noise.” Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 40 (2019): 133-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2018.03.007.

According to a review of studies on park size and urban cooling effect, large urban parks with an area of more than 10 hectares (24.7 acres) provide the highest-intensity cooling effect as well cooling over the...

Aram, Farshid, Ester Higueras García, Ebrahim Solgi, and Soran Mansournia. “Urban green space cooling effect in cities.” Heliyon 5, Issue 4 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01339.

A study of the 30 largest metropolitan areas in the United States found that walkable urban places (places developed for walkability and without prioritizing automobiles), perform better economically than sprawling...

Hadden Loh, Tracy, Christopher B. Leinberger, and Jordan Chafetz. Foot Traffic Ahead. New York: Smart Growth America and the George Washington University School of Business, 2019. https://smartgrowthamerica.org/resources/foot-traffic-ahead-2019/?download=yes&key=46188795

A study of 9,186 U.S. nursing homes found that increased tree canopy cover is associated with fewer depressive symptoms. This association did not vary by race or socioeconomic status of nursing home residents.

Browning, Matthew H.E.M., Kangjae Lee, and Kathleen L. Wolf. “Tree cover shows an inverse relationship with depressive symptoms in elderly residents living in U.S. nursing homes.” Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 41 (2019): 23-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2019.03.002

According to a Michigan study based on salivary biomarkers, the greatest stress reduction benefit is achieved with 20 to 30 minutes of exposure to urban nature. Participants taking a "nature pill" of 20 to 30...

Hunter, MaryCarol R., Brenda W. Gillespie, and Sophie Yu-Pu Chen. (April 2019). Urban Nature Experiences Reduce Stress in the Context of Daily Life Based on Salivary Biomarkers. Frontiers in Psychology 10: 722. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00722

At least 40% canopy coverage is needed to achieve the maximum cooling effect of trees in offsetting the urban heat island effect at the scale of a typical city block, according to this University of Wisconsin...

Ziter, Carly D., Eric J. Pedersen, Christopher J. Kucharik, and Monica G. Turner. “Scale-Dependent Interactions between Tree Canopy Cover and Impervious Surfaces Reduce Daytime Urban Heat during Summer.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116, no. 15 (2019): 7575–80. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1817561116

Sites with inexpensive community-driven design interventions like colorful crosswalks and greenery in concrete lanes may be associated with higher levels of happiness, more trust in strangers, and greater sense of...

Negami, Hanna R., Robin Mazumder, Mitchell Reardon, and Colin G. Ellard. “Field Analysis of Psychological Effects of Urban Design: a Case Study in Vancouver.” Cities & Health 2, no. 2 (2018): 106–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2018.1548257

A study of data provided by 575 Australian mothers with a child between the ages of 2 and 5 indicated that outdoor play time was positively associated with cooperative and easy-going social skills along with...

Hinkley T, Brown H, Carson V, Teychenne M (2018) Cross sectional associations of screen time and outdoor play with social skills in preschool children. PLoS ONE 13(4): e0193700. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193700

Improved hydraulic performance for designed detention ponds and treatment wetlands may be achieved by the placement of island clusters near the inlet, according to a study using scaled physical models. The models...

Balderas Guzman, Celina, Samantha Cohen, Manoel Xavier, Tyler Swingle, Waishan Qiu, and Heidi Nepf. “Island topographies to reduce short-circuiting in stormwater detention ponds and treatment wetlands.” Ecological Engineering 117 (2018): 182-193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2018.02.020.