Peter Kahn on Nature Interaction, Wildness in Cities

Written by

Michelle Ma · UW News · June 3, 2016

Featuring Peter Kahn, Nature and Health researcher and Steering Committee member

University of Washington professor Peter Kahn recently co-authored an opinion piece in the journal Science about the importance of interacting with nature in urban areas. UW Today asked Kahn a few more questions about the broader implications of his work.

Q: Why is it so important for people in cities to connect more deeply with nature?

PK: As a species we came of age with nature, and still today need that connection to do well, physically and psychologically. Just look around — and we see a lot of dis-ease. For example, about a third of people in the U.S. are obese. About 10 percent of people take antidepressants. The research literature supports what I think we all know intuitively: we’re our more vibrant, healthy selves when we live in relation with the natural world.

Finding Connections to Nature in Cities Is Key to Healthy Urban Living

Written by

Michelle Ma · UW News · June 3, 2016

Featuring Peter Kahn, Nature and Health researcher and Steering Committee member

The modern city is a place where a vibrant array of ideas, sights, sounds and smells intermingle to spawn creativity, expression and innovation. We are drawn to the noise, the constant connectivity and the delicious food.

Simply put, society is tuned to the pulse of the city — but at what cost?

That’s the question explored in a recent Science perspective piece co-authored by University of Washington researcher Peter Kahn. Its authors discuss the growing tension between an arguably necessary role urban areas play in society and the numbing, even debilitating, aspects of cities that disconnect humans from the natural world.