Image Source: Helmut Ignat
With the rapid urbanization speed of Bucharest since the 1990s, the city has replaced the green spaces with an abundance of "grey-spaces". This green space loss has a loss of habitat, it disrupts the natural passageways organisms and pollinators use to move within the city and from the city to more rural areas, which can affect the success of food production and seasonal migrations. Therefore, to preserve and restore the green spaces of Bucharest, we must first understand what benefits the urban green spaces provide.
1. Environmental Benefits
Urban areas, like Bucharest, with a lack of green spaces, are prone to be of climate change and ecosystem shifts due to the Urban Heat Island Effect, which can lead to temperature inversions which trap particulates and pollution beneath a layer of dense, cool air. Not only do green spaces break up the mass of paved surfaces, but they are also temperature and humidity regulators, carbon sinks, air purifiers, water filters, and nutrient cyclers.
Green spaces also help combat noise and light pollution. Light pollution is especially harmful to birds and amphibians.
Amphibians have a much greater ability to detect light and it is believed that “prolonged exposure to bright lights affects their hormones, skin coloration, thermoregulation, and reproduction” and sensory pollution has proven to change migration patterns in birds.
Excess anthropomorphic pollution has also proven to affect many species’ behavior and endocrinology, which in turn affects their reproductive ability and modifies the makeup of ecosystems. Furthermore, unnatural blue light has been linked to altering the circadian rhythm in humans
2. Health Benefits
Physical health tends to increase with availability to green space because of the availability of recreation and physical activity.
A study of a city in China which evaluated the relationship between urban green space and physical health found that, “in neighbourhoods with a Green Space Ratio lower than 28%, residents had a higher risk of physical inactivity, overweight or obesity, hypertension and stroke [and in] neighbourhoods with a Green View Index lower than 15%, residents had a higher risk of physical inactivity, overweight/obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and stroke”.
Less visible are the mental health benefits of urban green spaces. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified mental health as an emerging issue and even estimates that mental health and other non-communicable diseases will be the leading cause of deaths in the year 2021.
Additionally, WHO reported in 2011 that in Romania, “neuropsychiatric disorders are estimated to contribute to 19.9% of [diseases]”.
Widely accepted by mental health professionals, that Attention Restoration Theory (ART), established in 1989, has claimed that, “natural environments can provide cognitive benefits through the restoration of the capacity to focus or direct attention”. A six-week study in 2019 about mental health changes before and after spending time in the wetland area resulted in “significant improvements in mental health across a range of indicators, including mental wellbeing, anxiety, stress and emotional well-being”.
3. Economic Benefits
Another aspect of urban green spaces that can be overlooked is its impact on the local economy. Using the Hedonic Pricing method, researchers have been able to confidently correlate proximity to green spaces and increased property values.
One study found that even just a “one percent increase of the distance to the nearest large park [resulted in a decrease of] 1.5% of the average price of a square meter”. This study also concluded that, “greenery sells”, as the “apartment buildings recently built next to medium-sized parks, [with the] highest prices [in their study, focused] on green surroundings in all kinds of advertisements.
The use of the parks as advertisement clearly shows the property developers recognize the presence of a consumer market to buy/rent housing in proximity to green spaces. In addition to increasing property values, green spaces can attract customers to local businesses, draw in additional revenue for the city through ecotourism, and provide revenue through hosting events.
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