Urban greenspace prevents premature deaths

According to a systematic review and meta-analysis from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health in collaboration with Colorado State University and the WHO, urban green spaces can protect against premature all-cause mortality.

The report published in The Lancet Planetary Health included 8 million people in 7 different countries. The team summarized all the available evidence focusing on longitudinal studies following the same cohort of individuals over several years using a simple measure of exposure to green space known as NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) based on satellite images.

The meta-analysis found an increment in greenness around homes was associated with reduced premature mortality. Per each increment of 0.1 in vegetation score within 500m of homes there was a 4% reduction overall in premature mortality.