Seattle is full of ‘blue spaces’ — here’s the science behind it

Nicole Pasia · Seattle Times · August 20, 2026

Featuring Gregory Bratman, Center co-director

Earth is nicknamed the blue planet for good reason. Nearly three-quarters of the planet’s surface is covered in water, the very stuff our bodies need to survive.

Being around bodies of water, or “blue spaces,” can have positive effects on our well-being, wrote Catherine Kelly, a senior lecturer at England’s University of Brighton’s Centre for Environment and Society who used the term in her book “Blue Spaces: How and Why Water Can Make You Feel Better.”

Bordered by Puget Sound to the west and Lake Washington to the east, with Lake Union, Green Lake and the Duwamish River in between, Seattleites are bound to find “blue spaces” — and the benefits that come with them — wherever you go. Here’s why being around blue spaces may make you feel better — and a few recommendations on ways to interact with them and places to visit.