May 15, 2003 – The health benefits of accessible green spaces being well documented, the city of Montreal would do well to draw inspiration from Stockholm to offer its inhabitants easy access to natural areas.
This is the conclusion that stems from presentations made yesterday within the framework of the 2003 Seminar of the Montreal Observatory of Social Inequalities and Health.
The keynote speaker, head of research at the Swedish National Institute of Public Health, Dr Piroska à – stlin, explained that easy access to green spaces is one of the main determinants of public health. She clarified that the importance of green spaces is implicitly recognized by Swedish law and that the country’s city councils are obliged to provide such spaces near residential areas, hospitals, workplaces or even daycare centers and schools. In residential areas, for example, dwellings should be located no more than 50 meters away from green spaces intended for toddlers.
Several studies have shown that access to green spaces fights loneliness, reduces stress in children and increases the chances of engaging in physical activities.1, in addition to extending the life expectancy of some elderly people2. The World Health Organization also recommends that communities make the development of green spaces a priority.
Lessons for Montreal
Then, the town planner Sylvain Ducas, of the City of Montreal, presented figures that say a lot about the gap between the two metropolises in terms of the accessibility of green spaces. Mr. Ducas spent six months in Stockholm in 2000.
Montreal is 2.5 times the size of Stockholm, with an area of 504 km2 (against 187 km2) and 1.8 million inhabitants (compared to 740,000). However, 35% of Stockholm’s area is made up of green spaces, compared to only 11% for Montreal. In addition, the various districts of Stockholm are linked together by the “Regional Green Network”, a network of ten long corridors with a minimum width of 500 meters which crosses parks, cemeteries, forests and castles.
The city also has 12 large parks of over 100 hectares each, neighborhood parks and community gardens covering 32 km2, an urban national park of 27 km2 and about fifteen public beaches.
The gap is therefore enormous, and it is not tomorrow the day before that it will be filled. Mr. Ducas even estimates that Stockholm would be 50 years ahead of Montreal. But all hope is not lost.
“You could think of installing parks in schoolyards, for example,” he said. There are also all those alleys which were previously used by the deliverers of ice or coal, and which even the firefighters no longer use. Could we convert them into green spaces? We must see. One thing is certain, the improvement of green spaces makes it possible to improve the quality of life of people and to fight against social problems with a better environment. “
In addition, the head of the “Occupational and environmental health” unit for the Public Health Department of Montreal-Center, Dr. Louis Drouin, highlighted the direct link that exists between air quality and various health problems. For example, between June and September 1997, when ozone concentrations reached their peak, there was a 22% increase in emergency room visits among people over 65 years of age. due to respiratory problems.
Recently, a study in Chicago found that the city’s trees absorb 5,500 tonnes of air pollutants each year. Montreal has about 35% fewer inhabitants than Chicago, but 2.5 times fewer trees.
Jean-Benoit Legault – PasseportSanté.net
1. Giles-Corti B, Donovan RJ. The relative influence of individual, social and physical environment determinants of physical activity.Soc Sci Med 2002 Jun; 54 (12): 1793-812. [Consulté le 15 mai 2003].
2. Takano T, Nakamura K, Watanabe M. Urban residential environments and senior citizens’ longevity in megacity areas: the importance of walkable green spaces.J Epidemiol Community Health 2002 Dec; 56 (12): 913-8. [Consulté le 15 mai 2003].
