September 27, 2017
With nearly a third of Canadians experiencing mental illness during their lifetimes, researchers and urban planners have been looking at ways to incorporate natural spaces that promote mental wellbeing into designs for healthier cities.
Emily Rugel, a PhD candidate at the UBC School of Population and Public Health has been studying the link between access to natural spaces and mental health. In a recently published study, Rugel created a Natural Space Index to more precisely measure exposure to nature across Metro Vancouver.