{"id":33894,"date":"2024-12-22T10:35:13","date_gmt":"2024-12-22T18:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/troora.com\/team\/?p=33894"},"modified":"2025-06-07T08:04:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T15:04:37","slug":"nature-among-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/troora.com\/team\/nature-among-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature Among Us"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Unwrap the new year with us.<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Enjoy our premium, unique selections from TrooRa marketplace<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Nature Among Us\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Written By: Cristina Deptula<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Value of Urban Green Spaces<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Many cities around the world now integrate natural spaces\u2014groves of trees, bushes, water parks\u2014into urban architecture. These urban green spaces provide benefits for our climate and natural ecosystems as well as human health. With careful planning, we can craft urban parks that benefit most or all urban residents. Individuals can also get involved in this movement alongside city planners by volunteering at their local urban park or by planting in pots on their balconies.<\/p>

Cities around the world are integrating islands of nature into urban areas for human health and environmental sustainability. These spaces can be adapted to meet the unique landscape of each city and climate and enhance life for residents as well as the surrounding ecosystems.<\/p>

While urban planners figure out the optimal style of parks for each neighborhood and region, people can contribute to this movement through backyard gardens and potted patio plants. People can also visit, support, and often volunteer with their local urban green spaces! <\/p>

Ashland, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, just developed the Ashland Zocalo, with a play structure, a garden with plants that are native to the area or grow well in the climate, and a large lawn for soccer games. The architects built the Zocalo together with the community, inviting neighbors to share what they would like to see in a green space and acting on their suggestions.<\/p>

A BBC Earth article highlights other cities around the world, from Izmir, Turkey, to Singapore to Curitiba, Brazil, that have embraced the concept of urban green space. In the United Kingdom, Liverpool has repurposed a shopping mall\u2019s exterior walls and planter spaces into a space for evergreen trees and beehives. Singapore has declared an official plan that by 2030, no resident should be more than a ten-minute walk from an accessible green space park. One of the first urban parks to open was Jurong Lake Gardens, which contains a water garden full of aquatic plants that naturally filter water.<\/p>

The city of Izmir in Turkey is experimenting with building lots of tiny parklets with bushes and greenery since this is cheaper for the city than creating large parks. These have spaces for people to sit and cool down on hot days, which is all the more welcome with climate change warming up cities. Curitiba, Brazil, crafts public parks with trees to absorb runoff rainwater rather than building concrete canals, which cool water before it flows into storm drains, causing problems for aquatic ecosystems by being too hot.<\/p>

Seoul, South Korea, plants pines, cherries, and oaks in parks on the edge of the city to catch and trap airborne pollutants. New York City sports an aboveground garden in a former rail line all maintained by enthusiastic volunteers. Lagos, Nigeria, offers a variety of green spaces along the road in the Ikoyi district with the goal of beautifying the neighborhood and offering places for pedestrians to sit. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Benefits of Green Spaces<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A recent study described in Nature\u2019s Journal of Urban Sustainability examines the natural processes happening within the soil in over fifty-six worldwide urban areas. To a much greater extent than the scientists expected, the urban green spaces resembled untouched wild areas in many ways. This suggests that small parks within cities might be able to contribute even more than we thought to ecological sustainability and the restoration of the world\u2019s natural ecosystems.<\/p>

An article by Ida Sofie Gotzche Lang and Chrisann Neysa Rodriguez in Europe Now highlights the role of urban green spaces in cleaning pollutants out of the air and providing homes for wildlife, thus fostering biodiversity. These spaces also provide shade and relief from heat, reducing the ambient daily temperature of an entire city as well as toning down noise pollution.<\/p>

Humans also benefit from and appreciate these green spaces. An article from Sarah Cafasso of Stanford University, republished by the World Economic Forum, brings up the many ways small parks can improve the health of people in cities. These include giving people spaces to walk and exercise outdoors, helping people cool down and relax in peace and quiet in the shade, and providing spaces to gather and connect with others.<\/p>

Another piece from London\u2019s Natural History Museum points out how urban green spaces absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and help cool cities so residents can save on energy costs. Even a backyard garden or potted plants on a balcony contribute to that cooling effect, as do rooftop gardens on public buildings.<\/p>

The authors point out that, despite the many positive effects of urban green spaces for all forms of urban life, these small innovative city parks can be linked to gentrification. This economic force can make life unaffordable for and displace lower income city residents. To lessen this potentially negative effect, the authors recommend evening out the impact of these urban parks by building more of them and placing them everywhere throughout our cities.<\/p>

An environmental science piece in the journal Frontiers delves even more deeply into these equity issues. The authors survey three projects in the Netherlands designed to provide urban green space and associated enrichment activities for low-income people, those with mental health diagnoses, and the elderly with dementia. They came away positive about the promise and benefits of urban green space and highlighted the importance of working with and listening to the needs of the local communities surrounding the parks.<\/p>

Additionally, they advocated private\u2013public partnerships for park management and using the parks to provide resources and economic opportunities to local residents. In addition, they supported allowing local residents to use whatever public land and natural resources were not privately owned for their own benefit.<\/p>

Urban green spaces represent the potential for reintegrating nature back into our daily lives in a sustainable and workable way. When designed and built with local residents and ecosystems in mind, they can bring great benefits to city residents, wildlife, pollinators, and our global climate.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a0An environmental science piece in the journal Frontiers delves even more deeply into these equity issues. The authors survey three projects in the Netherlands designed to provide urban green space and associated enrichment activities for low-income people, those with mental health diagnoses, and the elderly with dementia. They came away positive about the promise and benefits of urban green space and highlighted the importance of working with and listening to the needs of the local communities surrounding the parks.<\/p>

Additionally, they advocated private\u2013public partnerships for park management and using the parks to provide resources and economic opportunities to local residents. In addition, they supported allowing local residents to use whatever public land and natural resources were not privately owned for their own benefit.<\/p>

Urban green spaces represent the potential for reintegrating nature back into our daily lives in a sustainable and workable way. When designed and built with local residents and ecosystems in mind, they can bring great benefits to city residents, wildlife, pollinators, and our global climate. \"\"<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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TrooRa Magazine<\/p>\r\n

Written by<\/p>\r\n

Cristina Deptula<\/p>\r\n

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SHOP<\/span><\/BR> \nTrooRa\nMarketplace<\/span><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Baroque Pearl Earrings<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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$80.00 usd<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Archer Bag Copper Metallic<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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$265.00 usd<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Mini Trio Candle<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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$50.00 usd<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Archer Bag Blue Steel Metallic<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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$265.00 usd<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSHOP NOW<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many cities around the world now integrate natural spaces\u2014groves of trees, bushes, water parks\u2014into urban architecture. These urban green spaces provide benefits for our climate and natural ecosystems as well as human health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":385,"featured_media":33948,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[167],"tags":[370,351],"class_list":["post-33894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-for-event-2025","tag-new-home-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/troora.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/troora.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/troora.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troora.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/385"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troora.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33894"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/troora.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35634,"href":"https:\/\/troora.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33894\/revisions\/35634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troora.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/troora.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troora.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troora.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}