Stress reduction benefits linked to vertical gardening, according to research by NTU Singapore
In a pioneering study spearheaded by psychologists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), it has been discovered that vertical greenery on building exteriors may help shield people from stress. The study, published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Landscape and Urban Planning, offers valuable insights into the impact of urban planning on the quality of life for urban populations.
The research, co-led by Sarah Chan, a Ph.D. candidate from the Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme at NTU, involved 111 participants who were asked to walk down a virtual street for five minutes. Half of the participants viewed buildings adorned with green plants, while the other half saw buildings with only green painted walls.
Following the experiment, participants reported feeling less positive when walking through the street with buildings draped in only green walls. Conversely, those walking through the street with buildings draped in plants did not report feeling either more or less positive. Furthermore, participants who viewed buildings with only green paint experienced a significant increase in stress as recorded by heart rate variability, while those who viewed buildings with green plants did not experience any change in stress.
The study's findings suggest that urban planning can have a direct impact on the well-being of people living in urban areas and can guide greening efforts in cities. The research provides guidance for city planners and architects to integrate nature into the built environment, supporting the adoption of a 'biophilic design' concept. This concept aims to connect people more closely to nature, which can help reduce stress, improve mental health, and even lower ambient temperatures, reducing energy consumption from cooling systems.
Moreover, walls of greenery can also help reduce carbon emissions and lessen the effect of 'urban heat island' - a phenomenon where city centres experience much warmer temperatures than less populated areas due to limited greenery and a high concentration of built structures.
The study's findings provide evidence that the color green alone may not be responsible for the positive effects of green vegetation. This research is one of the first to explore the contribution of vertical greenery to mental health, and the research team plans to use Virtual Reality (VR) to investigate the psychological impact of using nature in architecture further.
The DOI for the study is 10.1016/J.LANDURBPLAN.2021.104127. This study represents a significant stride forward in understanding the importance of integrating nature into urban environments and provides compelling reasons for city planners to adopt a 'biophilic design' concept.
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