Green Spaces in Urban Environments: Enhancing Children's Health and Cognitive Development

Abstract

The relation between human health and nature has gathered growing attention in recent years, particularly concerning its impact on children's cognitive development. This research focuses specifically on children, recognizing that their physical and mental health during formative years profoundly influences their long-term development and can have lasting effects, influencing their cognitive abilities as they mature. By focusing on urban green spaces, this research seeks to identify and understand the elements that most effectively enhance children's health. The study involves assessing children's cognitive capabilities and stress levels across two distinct settings: a classroom environment and periods spent in urban green spaces engaged in either rest or physical activities. By comparing these environments, the research aims to pinpoint the specific elements of urban green and outdoor spaces that contribute most significantly on positive health outcomes for children proposing a research that will appeal to a diverse audience, including scholars invested in human health and environmental psychology, practitioners involved in urban planning and landscape architecture, paediatric care providers concerned with holistic child development, and parents seeking evidence-based strategies to support their children's well-being