Enhancing Urban Living

The Transformative Power of Thoughtful Landscaping

by Alana Settle

Thoughtful landscaping in urban areas can create healthier communities.

Ohioans living in the state’s largest cities face several risk factors for their physical and mental health. Thankfully, the green industry is poised to make a difference in these communities. Urban landscaping can provide numerous benefits to city dwellers by improving the overall appeal of a city, increasing environmental sustainability, and enhancing the quality of life for city dwellers.

photo via Columbus Dispatch

Heat Islands

Heat waves can quickly become public health emergencies for urban areas, as heat causes more deaths in the U.S. than any other weather-related factor. Known as the heat island effect, cities without adequate shade get hotter and cool down slower than suburbs or countryside with more vegetation and less development. Columbus and Cincinnati can be, on average, six degrees warmer than surrounding areas, with some neighborhoods in Cincinnati up to 10 degrees hotter. Downtown Cleveland can be seven degrees warmer and ranks as the 15th worst heat island in the U.S.

Shade offered by trees can cool the air by up to 25 degrees. Thankfully, Ohio’s three largest cities are working to plant more trees on public land. Cincinnati and Columbus aim to increase their tree canopy cover to 40%, and Cleveland recently revived its Urban Forestry Commission. There is evidence that green roofs and walls can help mitigate the heat island effect as well.

photo via Britannica

Poor air quality contributes to higher respiratory infections, asthma, and other illnesses. Nearly all of Ohio’s major cities were ranked in the top 50 worst places to live with asthma by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America in 2022 (Cleveland held the #2 spot).

Along with absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, trees reduce the amount of PM2.5—fine particulate matter that can cause serious health issues when inhaled. PM sticks to trees’ leaves instead of floating in the air, where it stays until rain can eventually wash it down into the soil. Some research shows asthma attacks are reduced in urban neighborhoods with tree-lined streets.

Of course, tree pollen also contributes to allergies and asthma. Allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic illness in the U.S. Allergies and pollen counts are getting worse as the climate warms.

The green industry can play a role in minimizing allergens in the air by choosing plants carefully. Over the past few years, city planners’ preference for planting only male trees has been criticized. While male trees don’t produce messy seeds, pods, and fruit like female trees (an obvious plus for street trees), they do produce significantly more pollen, and there are fewer female trees to capture it. Thomas Ogren’s The Allergy-Fighting Garden and his Ogren Plant Allergy Scale, which ranks the allergy potential of garden and landscape plants, are good resources for those interested in creating lower-allergen landscapes.

photo via Trip Advisor

More people are recognizing the life-improving power of plants. New downtown luxury apartment complexes boast all types of green amenities, including rooftop gardens, dog parks, community gardening plots, lush courtyards, and balconies for residents to do their own container gardening. Downtown restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and businesses hire landscape companies to provide beautiful streetscapes, entryways, seasonal containers, and even interior living walls.

Not everyone living in urban areas can experience the beauty of the natural world easily, but opportunities like vacant lot restoration projects can extend the benefits of green space to low-income neighborhoods.

Thousands of vacant lots negatively impact urban neighborhoods.Cleveland alone has 18,000 vacant lots (not counting those owned privately) and spends millions of dollars just to keep the grass mowed in those lots. Government land bank programs and non-profit organizations are attempting to revitalize these lots into beneficial green spaces.

In Cleveland, the Western Reserve Land Conservancy cleans up vacant lots and turns them into small parks, and their Side Yard program helps residents obtain ownership over adjacent vacant lots (some can be purchased for just $200). In Akron, more than 100 vacant lots have been given away to residents in the “Mow Your Own” program. Several non-profit organizations, such as Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens’ Growing to Green program in Columbus, offer free resources and grant opportunities for individuals who want to use these lots to create community gardens.

Vacant lot restoration projects have measurable effects. In Philadelphia, gun violence was reduced by 29% in neighborhoods where the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society transformed vacant lots into public green spaces. Studies have also shown that just a short walk through an urban park can decrease heart rate and reduce anxiety.

Landscaping is a crucial aspect of modern city planning. While it certainly comes with challenges, it’s clear the green industry can make a positive and measurable impact. Continue to pay attention to new research, stay on top of changing best practices, and network with like-minded individuals to learn how you can play a role in developing healthier urban communities.

Sources:

1. Climate Central. (n.d.). [Website](https://www.climatecentral.org/resources).
2. Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. (2022). [Asthma Capitals Report](https://community.aafa.org/blog/2022-asthma-capitals-report-where-does-your-city-rank).
3. The Field: The Official Blog of the American Society of Landscape Architects. (2019). [Building a Low Allergen Plant Palette](https://thefield.asla.org/2019/02/19/building-a-low-allergen-plant-palette/).
4. Allergy & Asthma Network. (n.d.). [How Plant Gender Impacts Your Allergies](https://allergyasthmanetwork.org/news/how-plant-gender-impacts-your-allergies/#:~:text=Male%20plants%20produce%20and%20disperse,pollen%20and%20allergies%20for%20decades.).
5. Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. (n.d.). [How to Reduce Crime and Gun Violence, Stabilize Neighborhoods: Randomized Controlled Study](https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/news/how-reduce-crime-gun-violence-stabilize-neighborhoods-randomized-controlled-study).