A Walk in the Park With Gil: Parks, Health, Cities. Connecting to Health and Wellbeing.

May 17, 2022  11:00 - 12:00

(GMT -4:00) Eastern Time

Event URL:  https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6kDToUfZRyeB6Z54EZsAXw
Hosted by: 8 80 Cities

Join Gil Penalosa, founder and chair of 8 80 Cities and Canada Ambassador for World Urban Parks as he discusses the connection of green urban space and health and wellbeing with the following two experts.

Dr. Melissa Lem, MD, CCFP, FCFP
Founder & Director, Park Prescriptions, PaRx
President-Elect Canadian Assoc. Physicians for the Environment
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Title: Prescribing Nature for Patient and Planetary Health
Summary:
Named one of the top global wellness trends in 2019, nature prescriptions are being written by healthcare professionals across the planet from the UK to the United States. And rightly so: from improved eyesight and immune function to reduced stress and ADHD symptoms, the evidence is growing about the health benefits of green time. We'll review research highlights from the significant body of knowledge on nature and health, discuss how health is a powerful frame for increasing support for nature-positive policy proposals, and how nature prescribing can improve the health of the planet.

Jenny Roe, PhD
Co-author new book: Restorative Cities
Professor, Design & Health;
Director, Center for Design & Health
University of Virginia, USA
Honorary Professor, Heriot Watt University, UK
Virginia, USA / Scotland, UK
Title: The Restorative Power of the Green and Blue City.
Edinburgh, UK, case study.
Summary:
Jenny Roe will set out a new urban paradigm for “Restorative Cities” (Roe and McCay, 2021) underpinned by mental health and wellbeing, that brings together scientific evidence and practice from multiple disciplines to deliver a new theoretical and practical framework to develop more socially and environmentally just cities. The framework comprises seven inter-related pillars of urban design that support mental health and human flourishing including a vital role for city parks, urban green spaces and blue (water) settings. She will set out some of the principles of the Green and Blue City for mental health using her home city of Edinburgh as a case study.