Are Green Spaces in Cities as Good for Us as Green Spaces in Mountains?

Jenni Gritters · REI · August 30, 2019

Featuring Gregory Bratman and Kathleen Wolf, members of the Center’s Research Collaborative

One of the biggest puzzles in social science right now involves trying to figure out what kinds of outdoors spaces are best for certain kinds of people. While scientists know that being outside has some benefits for some people, they’re trying to learn more about how and why we’re impacted. In my case, was that city park as positively impactful on my mental health as the alpine lake? And would someone with less anxiety but more depressive tendencies than me respond in the same way to those environments? University of Washington (UW) social scientist Kathleen Wolf and her colleague, Greg Bratman, an assistant professor at the UW College of the Environment, are searching for the answers to those very questions.