ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the state of current urban nature and human physical health research, focuses on the components of urban nature that contribute positively to human health, and outlines emergent research areas to address critical gaps in understanding the pathways between urban nature and human health impacts. Public health and urban planning researchers and practitioners have investigated the role that urban nature plays in creating or enhancing human health over the past several decades and the results are noteworthy. Park and natural resource agencies are particularly interested in quantifying the health impacts of physical activities occurring in the landscapes that they manage. The wide range of results from community–environment interaction studies may arise from a lack of consensus in defining and measuring ‘proximity’ to urban nature. The policy implications of the connection between urban nature and human physical health are many.
