Nature Makes Healthy

Something to consider when planning development:

The closer you live to nature, the healthier you're likely to be.

For instance, people who live within 1 kilometer (.6 miles) of a park or wooded area experience less anxiety and depression, Dutch researchers report.

The findings put concrete numbers on a concept that many health experts had assumed to be true.

"It's nice to see that it shows that, that the closer humans are to the natural environment, that seems to have a healthy influence," said Dr. David Rakel, director of integrative medicine and assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

That's Amanda Gardner, writing in USA Today. A few other points:

Children and poor people suffered disproportionately from lack of green acres, the researchers found.

And what affects the most vulnerable affects all:

More green space may also be a way for whole communities to become healthier.

The cypress pictured is much like those in the swamp on Val Del Road that the county let a developer cut down last year.