Many people across the ages have intuitively recognized the benefits provided by having nature in our everyday surroundings. Over the past few decades studies have emerged from many disciplines (such as psychology, sociology, geography and urban planning) that confirm our intuitions about the benefit of, indeed the need for, the experience of nearby nature. These studies also expand our understanding about the range and quality of benefits.

Studies have addressed the entire landscape gradient from the urban center, to suburbs, rural areas, and wildlands. Urban nature is particularly important, as it is the antidote to the particular challenges and pressures of city living.

The outcomes of peer-reviewed research are distributed across diverse journals, books, and report documents, and some are difficult to access. This website provides a comprehensive overview of research on human health and well being benefits.

This website is the result of a joint project of the University of Washington and the U.S. Forest Service to present a complete, evidence-based understanding of the human health and well being benefits provided by urban trees, forests and nature. The purposes of the project are to:

• display the full array of benefits science, including scientific sources
• provide a succinct framework for describing benefits
• identify future research needs

Within this website the research studies are arranged by major themes. Each theme page contains a brief summary of what we know, and the written sources that describe the research and explain benefits. All benefits summaries are public domain information; if used for publication, please use this citation:

We hope you will find this information interesting and useful.

Kathleen L. Wolf, Ph.D.                         zz-name

University of Washington                        zz-USFS lead?

KEY REFERENCES:

Wolf, K.L. 2008. Metro Nature Services: Functions, Benefits and Values, pp. 294-315. In: S.M. Wachter and E.L. Birch (Eds.), Urban Sustainability in the Twenty-First Century. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 416 pp.