September 13, 2016
Finding connections to nature in cities is key to healthy urban living
Those who live in cities are increasingly “numb” to the natural world and its important connections for our health. UW researcher Peter Kahn says that city dwellers are unaware of how we’re undermining our connection to nature, putting our own health and the survival of wildlife and wild areas at higher risk of loss from inaction on environmental problems.
Kahn coauthored a new book that explores how “environmental generational amnesia” is due in part to a shift in each generation away from meaningful interaction with nature. But cities can be thoughtfully designed to incorporate nature, the authors say. “Thus, cities designed well, with nature in mind and at hand, can be understood as natural, supportive of both ecosystem integrity and public health.”