Green space adaptation, and mental health and wellbeing outcomes (GREEN.WELL)

GREEN.WELL will address urban health, climate change, and sustainability through green space field experiments in the urban built environment.

The GREEN.WELL project aims to address the question: what are the mental health and wellbeing outcomes of green space interventions targeting climate adaptation in cities?

It will answer this by: i) researching the intersection of climate and health risks in space; and ii) conducting ‘before’ and ‘after’ measurements of mental health and wellbeing outcomes from green space adaptation in the London Borough of Islington. This will be achieved by a novel collaboration between UCL’s Bartlett School of the Bult Environment (Planning) and Faculty of Brain Science (Neuroscience) and collaboration with external partners, Islington Council and C40 Network.

Working collaboratively, the project aims to understand and measure how green space adaptation supports mental health and wellbeing. It will consider spatial, design, and geographical characteristics of urban green space and psychological/neuroscience data to understand the interplay between the urban environment/green space and individual mental health and well-being. 

GREEN.WELL integrates climate adaptation and public health domains by leveraging spatial intersectionality and neuroscience-based evaluation expertise. This integration allows for an empirical understanding of the impact of green spaces on mental health and wellbeing, supported by pre- and post-intervention measurement data.

Additionally, the project’s collaborative nature, involving academic, local government and international networks experts, ensures research which is transdisciplinary with potential to accelerate intervention discovery and development. By focusing on real-life applications in a specific urban setting and aiming for replicability, GREEN.WELL will set a new standard for integrated climate and health intervention in the context of urban green space, impacting on broader urban, climate change and public health policy.