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Introduction
A £675,000 research project to explore the links between the natural environment and health has started at Staffordshire University as part of a €3.5 million European collaboration.Funded through the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme. Project number FP7-ENV-2011-282996.
Project website: http://www.phenotype.eu/
Indications exist that close contact with nature brings benefits to human
health and wellbeing, but the mechanisms are not well understood. Most of
the research has been conducted in the Northwest of Europe and USA. This
leaves a need for a more robust evidence base on links between exposure
to natural outdoor environment and human health and well-being across Europe.
Furthermore, inconsistency and variation in indicators for green or natural
space have often made it difficult to compare results from different studies.
PHENOTYPE is intended to provide a better understanding of the potential
mechanisms, and better integration of human health needs into land use planning
and green space management.
PHENOTYPE is focused on the integration of human health needs, and the translation
of the research outcomes into recommendations for policy makers and guidelines
for professional practitioners. It will include both positive effects and
preconditions for the natural environment to have a positive effect on health.
To accomplish this, PHENOTYPE will investigate the interconnections between
exposure to natural outdoor environments (rural and urban) and better human
health and wellbeing and particularly. The underlying mechanisms will be
identified and examined for different population groups. The project will
further examine the effects of different characteristics of the natural
outdoor environment, and address the implications for land-use planning
and green space management.
The European Commission-funded project involves nine other partners from
Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Lithuania, with the University of
Barcelona co-ordinating the project and the University of California Berkeley
providing specialist equipment.
Summary of project research
PHENOTYPE will use a multidisciplinary and integrated approach using the
best and most efficient methods to understand the relation between exposure
to the natural environment and health. It will specifically address in-depth
the potential mechanisms associated, and translate these findings into potential
policies and management practices, taking into account potential regional,
social and/or cultural differences. Stakeholders will play an active role
throughout the work.
Spaces that we include in our research are:
- Green spaces: roof gardens, city parks, court yards,…
- “Greenery”: forests, nature reserves/parks, mountains, farmland, trees,
landscaping,…
- Blue spaces: water such as canals, ponds, creeks, rivers, beaches etc
The importance of both quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the
natural environment will be assessed by collecting detailed data on these
characteristics using a combination of methods of techniques. The focus
will be on the day-to-day environments in which people live, other places
where they spend time, and the effects on mental and physical health. For
this, volunteers from different health, cultural and social backgrounds
in Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain and United Kingdom are being recruited
to complete questions relating to their environment and emotions when prompted
by mobile-phone software, Calfit.
Project impact
Results of the research will be analysed with input from stakeholders from areas including urban planning, medical, academic and policy development professions. It will be translated into a common language and recommendations to the European Commission and national level organisations for integration in policies directly or indirectly affecting human health.
Project Reports and Publications