{"id":148226,"date":"2026-03-25T17:30:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T17:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/148226\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T17:30:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T17:30:06","slug":"urban-forests-improve-the-physical-and-mental-health-of-city-dwellers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/148226\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban forests improve the physical and mental health of city dwellers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nThe phrase “urban forest” sounds counterintuitive. But American cities host more than 140 million acres<\/a> of the country’s forests in urban parks, trees planted along streets and rivers, and other green spaces.\n<\/p>\n

\nThese trees help make cities more beautiful. A vast amount of research also shows that urban forests help improve physical and mental health.\n<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0People leaving prison face unique health challenges. This new Center City clinic seeks to help them<\/a><\/p>\n

\nPeople who have access to parks and green spaces are more likely to achieve recommended levels of physical activity<\/a>. Increased vegetation has been linked<\/a> to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Trees also help reduce heat-related<\/a> health risk by providing shade in urban landscapes.\n<\/p>\n

\nChildren who play in green outdoor spaces exhibit<\/a> reduced symptoms of attention-deficit\/hyperactivity disorder.\u00a0People who live near trees have improved sleep<\/a>. And people who feel more connected to nature report improved well-being<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\nThe Environmental Protection Agency<\/a> also reports that urban forests are responsible for removing approximately 45 million tons of carbon dioxide \u2013 a culprit in global warming \u2013 each year.\n<\/p>\n

American Forests<\/a>, a national conservation organization, recently identified Philadelphia as one of the major American cities that could attain improved health and environmental benefits from more urban forest.<\/p>\n

\nHere’s one way to get involved in improving the health of the city:\n<\/p>\n

\nThe Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is seeking volunteers to help plant 650 trees throughout the greater Philadelphia region April 14-19.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe initiative \u2013 which happens twice a year \u2013 is one of the ways the organization fosters healthier local neighborhoods by providing more tree canopies, the organization say.\n<\/p>\n

\n“Each tree we plant strengthens the city’s canopy, improves community health, and gives neighbors a chance to come together and care for the places they call home,” Dan Preziosi, the Horticultural Society’s director of trees, said in a press release<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

Matching trees to their optimal environments based on soil, sunlight, infrastructure and other factors ensures that more than 85% of trees planted survive, the organization says.\n<\/p>\n

\nVolunteers can help sort and distribute trees April 14-17 at the Philabundance Warehouse at 401 Domino Lane in Philadelphia.\n<\/p>\n

\nPeople also can also help plant the trees on April 18-19 \u2013 and no experience is needed.\n<\/p>\n

\nClick here<\/a> to sign up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The phrase “urban forest” sounds counterintuitive. But American cities host more than 140 million acres of the country’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148227,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[49745,5974,47,69,71,70,5533,19747],"class_list":["post-148226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-adult-health","tag-cities","tag-mental-health","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-trees","tag-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}