The life expectancy of urban residents is higher if they live in “green” districts, researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health revealed.
Trees contribute to the cooling and purification of air, as well as the absorption of gases warming the planet, they said.
The authors said that this was the largest research in history as it included the data from nine other researches among over eight million people in seven countries from China to Canada.
The researchers used satellite images to quantify green areas, including trees, grass within 500 meters of people’s homes. The study participants were monitored for several years, and the cases of premature deaths due to heart or respiratory diseases were considered.
The research published in The Lancet Planetary Health magazine showed that the growth of green areas by 10 percent led to decrease in premature mortality by 4 percent.
Thus, a green city must have 20-30 percent of its area covered by green.
According to the United Nations’ assessment, the two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050, with many cities already looking for ways to increase green areas.
