The Importance of Green Spaces by Lorena Medina

By Lorena Medina Building green spaces is essential, not only for better air quality but the urban dwellers physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. So do Parks, streams, Gardens, green roofs, playgrounds, and forests which also provide essential ecosystems in Chicago, therefore, promoting the psychological, physical, and emotional well-being of our residents and visitors. Urban communities like Chicago need to continuously create more green spaces to strengthen their image, personal life, and the bettering of their current environment. Currently, approximately 7 million square feet of green spaces in Chicago roughly produce enough air for at least 11,200 people. Now compared to the 2.7 million in Chicago's population, those green spaces seem insignificant which is why we need way more green spaces especially in marginalized communities. Currently, Chicago's population is decreasing but with more green spaces, it enriches not only our environment physically but creates a social opportunity where people in Chicago can interact and feel apart of something bigger and more beautiful. A study conducted in a Pennsylvania Hospital showed patients with a urban view from their building had a considerably higher rate of health and healing than those with a view of the back of the building. Other solutions to think about is negating urban heat and making the city cooler which balances out the greenhouse gas emissions and makes sure that the city has some type of fresh air. The ecosystem services from building more urban green spaces for a community requires public participation and a local sense of ownership of management's plans. It is mainly orchestrated by the local government but Community participation should be a requirement. Of course challenges such as competing urban planning, economic considerations, and Market forces exist but this only creates yet another opportunity for the community to congregate and search for better processes and solutions.The process of planning and constructing green spaces are extensive and expensive which is why it is such a problem for marginalized and low-income communities but the solution to this is the innovation of the residents and engineers to find material that are still safe and effective to decrease the cost of construction. Still, often times the wealthier communities have more green spaces than other less-financially capable communities which is contrary to the purpose of green spaces in urban areas: Sustainability and Equity . Overall, we must be Innovative on consistent and continuous construction of green spaces in an economical way to benefit the entirety of urban dwellers. “Green Building –US EPA”. www.epa.gov “GreenScore City Index release notes, formulas and measurement methodology…” greenscore.ca. Alter, L. (2012). Proof that the Greenest Building is the One Already Standing Released in New Report from Preservation Green Lab. treehugger.com: Ashoka. (Nov.2017). Transforming Schoolyards, Our Most Abundant Public Spaces. Forbes.http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2017/11/01/transforming-schoolyards-our-most-abundant-public-spaces/ Brennan, J. (Nov. 2016). Saving Peterborough’s Green Backyard: “It’s a point of stillness in a crazy world” Corner, A. (May. 2013). When nature has a price tag: measuring the happiness factor of green spaces. The Guardian. Feng, P. (2011). Brief discussion of green buildings. Procedia Engineering, 21, 939-942 Frist, B. (Jun.2017). The Science Behind How Nature Affects Your Health. Forbes. Gromicko, N. (2015). Enhancing Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings. InterNACHI: Hollis, L. (Feb. 2014). People stress us out, but they are also the key to happiness in cities. The Guardian. Lant, K. (2017). We Just Blew Through Another Climate Change Milestone. Lia, C. (2013). Probe into the Construction of the Perfect Urban Space in the Urban Design------Taking the Urban Design of Naxun City’s Central Area as an Example. Shanxi Science and Technology Taylor, M. (June. 2018). ‘Time running out’ for UK parks, government told. The Guardian. Wahlquist, C. (Aug. 2017). Melbourne ‘world’s most livable city’ for seventh year running. The Guardian. Walton, A. G. (July. 2018). ‘Forest Bathing’ Really May Be Good For Health, Study Finds. Forbes. http:///www/forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2018/ 07/10/forest-bathing-really-mayy-be-good-for-health-study-finds/ Watson. B. (Sep. 2017). Can working in a green building make you more productive? The Guardian.

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