Your Favourite Colour is Green: The Mysteries of Green Space

Photo by Elifin Realty on Unsplash

By: Alexander Korski

This blog has been reviewed by Elias Elaneh and Şimal Dölek; edited, formatted and published by Nicholas Murray.

**

I grew up in a neighbourhood a modest walking distance from Ottawa’s downtown core. The first few blocks into the city are embraced by a lush canopy of deciduous trees, planted on nearly every lawn. The little jaunt through this green space always served as the beginning and end of my daily walk to school. While I might not have consciously savored its beauty every single day, I think it was beneficial, providing a subtle yet comforting rhythm to my daily routine. If you also live or frequently visit somewhere green, you probably know what I’m talking about. Science has confidently established the psychological boons of exposure to green space, particularly when implemented in normally grey urban spaces. In addition to expected factors such as cleaner air and greater opportunity for physical activity, spaces such as community parks and gardens are associated with increases in psychological wellbeing and general public health.¹

I think most people are aware of the benefits of natural spaces: today’s citizens and their representatives frequently push for green initiatives, hoping to spruce up public spaces for the sake of both environmental health and their aesthetic enjoyment. However, I still have a lot of questions, and apparently, science does too. For example, what specific health benefits arise from this psychological wellbeing? How important is the colour green itself, as opposed to the natural quality of the setting? Are certain natural settings better for you than others? Is the little cactus on my radiator actually doing anything? I’ve read up on some investigations into questions like these. I learned some new things, and I’m excited to share them with you.

Urban green space is most often considered as a counteractive force to the drudgery of living in the concrete jungle that characterizes urban cities, but it appears that the benefits extend beyond stress reduction. Research has observed some pursuits increasing in effectiveness when performed in green spaces. For instance, a green environment enhances the mood and self-esteem boosting properties of exercise to such an extent that researchers have coined the term ‘green exercise’.² Perhaps more surprisingly, educational practices may stand to benefit as well. Kindergarten students have demonstrated less off-task behaviour when learning language arts in an outdoor environment compared to an indoor classroom.³ The implications reach even further — overall, direct exposure to green space has been related to improvement in characteristics associated with heightened academic performance, such as focus, productivity, and vitality.⁴ Personally, I would prefer an air-conditioned classroom to a sweaty, bug-infested field when listening to a lecture, but with those factors accounted for, I can imagine how the natural scenery could help with my focus.

direct exposure to green space has been related to improvement in characteristics associated with heightened academic performance, such as focus, productivity, and vitality

When it comes to particulars of the scenery in a green space, much of the research does not seem to discriminate. In fact, taking a walk in a ‘green environment’ (natural) and a ‘blue environment’ (natural with water) both increase mood significantly more than walking in an urban environment, and to a similar degree.⁵ However, one investigation argues that biodiversity is actually a critical element. An examination of survey responses found that botanical biodiversity significantly predicted the restorative effects of multiple parks, explaining an impressive 43% of the changes observed in participants.⁶ While a football field may be a better place to work out than a basketball court, a natural environment featuring a plentiful array of fauna is best of all.

Still, our knowledge behind the psychological benefits of green space is not complete. For instance, while the effects of spaces such as parks are well-established, more deliberate infrastructure, such as living walls consisting of planned plant growth along the side of a building, has been explored less. By designing living walls using established aesthetic principles such as colour theory, researchers discovered that the affective qualities of different colour combinations, such as the mood invoked from viewing them, can determine the impact of a green space. In short, merely having contrasting shades of green is not enough to secure the optimal human experience: “developing a design composition with a focus on color contrast in an outdoor context should be considered as an act of well-balanced understanding of color theory and awareness of related human experiences”.⁷ In case you were wondering, the most well-received palette for a living wall in this study was “a narrow light-dark gradation and green shades mainly oriented towards warm green shades”.⁷ I initially expected the scientific exploration of green space to be viewed through a purely psychological lens, given humanity’s relationship with nature. I find it exciting that this field can be so elegantly crossed with artistic studies, allowing us to combine the principles of what makes humans happy from two different fields.

I try to end my blogs with practical suggestions related to what I have explored. I feel that it should be obvious this time. Go outside! If you don’t live somewhere green, go there! Better yet, try taking one of your normally-inside activities to the park. Recently, I have been playing chess with friends in my especially green backyard. If the weather is nice, I find that I leave these sessions especially invigorated and satisfied compared to when we play inside. You too can contribute to the continually expanding library of green space’s fortifying properties.

Thank you for reading my blog with the Canadian Positive Psychology Association. If you haven’t already, please consider getting your CPPA membership to join our wonderful community and check out our Student Zone. Plus, if you liked this blog or if it has helped you in any way, please take a moment to like, share, or comment.

Works Cited

1. Wolch, J. R., Byrne, J., & Newell, J. P. (2014). Urban green space, public health, and environmental justice: The challenge of making cities ‘just green enough.’ Landscape and Urban Planning, 125, 234–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.01.017
2. Donnelly, A. A., MacIntyre, T. E., Sheffield, D., Lumber, R., Calogiuri, G., Warrington, G., Beckmann, J., Lahart, I., Brick, N., Darcy, P. M., Gidlow, C., Rogerson, M., Barton, J., Pretty, J. N., Gladwell, V., Igou, E. R., Klinger, E., Madan, C. R., Cappuccio, M., … Collier, M. (2020). The Green Exercise Concept. In Physical activity in natural settings: Green and blue exercise. essay, Routledge.
3. Largo-Wight, E., Guardino, C., Wludyka, P. S., Hall, K. W., Wight, J. T., & Merten, J. W. (2018). Nature contact at school: The impact of an outdoor classroom on children’s well-being. International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 28(6), 653–666. https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2018.1502415
4. Hodson, C. B., & Sander, H. A. (2017). Green urban landscapes and school-level academic performance. Landscape and Urban Planning, 160, 16–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.11.011
5. Gidlow, C. J., Jones, M. V., Hurst, G., Masterson, D., Clark-Carter, D., Tarvainen, M. P., Smith, G., & Nieuwenhuijsen, M. (2016). Where to put your best foot forward: Psycho-physiological responses to walking in natural and Urban Environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 45, 22–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.11.003
6. Wood, E., Harsant, A., Dallimer, M., Cronin de Chavez, A., McEachan, R. R., & Hassall, C. (2018). Not all green space is created equal: Biodiversity predicts psychological restorative benefits from urban green space. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02320
7. Thorpert, P., Englund, J.-E., & Sang, Å. O. (2023). Shades of green for living walls — experiences of color contrast and its implication for aesthetic and psychological benefits. Nature-Based Solutions, 3, 100067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2023.100067