Download Introduction - Ecohealth Ontario

Realizing the Health Benefits of Green
Spaces in a Changing World
EcoHealth Workshop
March 24, 2015
Burkhard Mausberg
CEO, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation
The Impact of the
Built Environment on Health
The Health Impacts of Sprawl
report by Ontario College of
Family Physicians, Jan 2005
• Scientific Evidence Base
• Comprehensive Assessment
• Supported the Case for
Action
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Connecting Sprawl and
Health Issues
Sprawl
Traffic
Congestion
Smog
Health
Issues
The Health Impacts of Urban Sprawl:
Air Pollution
More urban sprawl, more
driving, more smog:
Smog is linked to:
- Respiratory conditions
- Cardiovascular disease
- Lung cancer
- Delayed lung development
- Negative effects on pregnancy
- Birth defects
“In 2005, the OMA estimated that over
5,800 people would die prematurely
because of air pollution”
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The Health Impacts of Urban Sprawl:
Obesity
More urban sprawl, less physical
activity, and more obesity leads to:
• Diabetes, High Blood Pressure,
Heart Disease, Cancers,
Osteoarthritis
• Each hour per day spent in a car
increases the likelihood of
becoming obese by 6%
• Each kilometer walked per day
reduces the likelihood of
becoming obese by nearly 5%
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The Health Impacts of Sprawl:
Social and Mental Health
Sprawled development
contributes to:
• More time driving, less time for
friends, family and recreation
• Increased experience of
isolation and decline in a sense
of community
• Less time for children to
experience privacy, tranquility,
safety and community
• Increased stress of commuting
• Increased exposure to the
trauma of witnessing and being
involved in traffic collisions
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The Greenbelt Plan
Vision
Permanently protect:
• Prime agricultural land
• Natural heritage and water
resource systems
• Provide for a diverse range of
economic and social activities
associated with rural
communities, agriculture,
tourism, recreation and
resource uses
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What the Greenbelt Has Achieved
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Greenbelt Plan: Health Benefits
• Helped contain sprawl
• Prevented a lot of car miles
• Protected farmland and has been a catalyst for the local
food movement
• Regulation of air and water quality;
• Climate change mitigation
• Over ½ million acres of Natural Heritage Systems
• Active recreation: 480km Cycle route, sign-posted walks
and trails
• Sustainable and fulfilling employment for 161,000 people
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Provincial Coordinated Review
• 14 “Town Hall” public meetings across
the GGH based on a Discussion
Document with questions relating to the
four Plans
• Online platform for the public to answer
Discussion Document questions
• Submissions accepted to MAH and
through the EBR
• Please get involved and advocate for
the value of the Greenbelt
• http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page10882.a
spx
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Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation
& EcoHealth Ontario Partnership
• EcoHealth Ontario
– Literature reviews exploring the health benefits of green spaces
– Multi-sector collaborative
• Convergence with Friends of Greenbelt Foundation:
– Shared interest in understanding roles of green spaces in urban,
suburban and rural areas
– Shared interest in facilitating healthy communities, especially in the face
of climate change
• 2015 is timely:
– 10th anniversary of Greenbelt Plan
– Reviews of Provincial legislation, including Greenbelt Act
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Valuing Urban and
Rural Green Spaces
• Focus of this workshop is to explore the health benefits of
green spaces in a changing world
• The Greenbelt is a crucial complement to the urban green
spaces
• Without it, the impacts of environmental degradation would
be much more pronounced in urban centres
• Expanding the Greenbelt into urban river valleys where it
will become part of the urban green space system
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Workshop Objectives
• Bring greater profile and awareness to the strong links
between healthy natural environments, access to natural
spaces, and the health and well-being of communities
• Share information about health benefits of natural
spaces
• Identify challenges and needs in fields of public health,
medicine, planning, parks and environment
• Encourage policies and programs that promote and
enhance the human health benefits of green spaces,
such as Ontario’s Greenbelt
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Thank you.
Burkhard Mausberg
CEO
Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation
Greenbelt Fund
416 898 9510
[email protected]
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