Olmstead Parks | Public health news wire

The link between parks and public health has long been recognized. Natural spaces can encourage physical activity, strengthen mental health, and foster community bonds. During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, parks played a particularly important role, helping people to relax and gather safely.

In April, the National Association for Olmsted Parks launched Olmsted 200, a year-long celebration marking the bicentenary of famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The APHA is one of the 10 founding partners of the Olmsted 200 campaign, which strengthens public and political support for natural spaces in the United States. Olmsted was one of the first members of the APHA, leading a committee on “the health value” of parks and nature.

Anne Neal Petri, President and CEO of the Olmsted National Parks Association and Managing Partner of Olmsted 200, discusses the legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted and the importance of public parks today.

Who was Frederick Law Olmsted and what role did he see for parks in American life?

Frederick Law Olmsted designed 17 parks from coast to coast, starting with Central Park in 1858. It was not until the age of 43 that he adopted landscape architecture as a profession. He was a farmer, investigative reporter for the New York Times, first executive secretary of the United States Health Commission, conservationist and supporter of national parks.

He is known as the founder of landscape architecture, but Olmsted was truly a visionary social reformer. He saw how the rich could move away from urban centers to take advantage of private land but not the poor, how people had no place to come together in times of civil war where there were deep social divisions. He was very attached to the idea that parks and public spaces belong to everyone.

Olmsted believed that parks should be safe and enjoyable, free from distraction, and provide relaxing landscapes to help release people from stress. He wanted parks to be gathering places for all walks of life, places where everyone was on an equal footing to enjoy active and passive recreation. Equity and access were at the heart of his philosophy and certainly should be today.

How have public health considerations been taken into account in Olmsted’s work?

When it comes to the designs and concept of Olmsted’s parks and open spaces, he was thinking about public health even before there was a public health association. By the end of the 19th century, America was in the throes of a public health crisis, with open sewers, non-existent sanitation facilities, widespread disease, overcrowded living conditions, pollution and degradation of the earth. environment.

Olmsted faced the challenges of a rapidly urbanizing country and governments that turned a blind eye to public health. He saw the connection between public health and a thoughtful built environment. This is what so motivated his conception of an urban park. He saw these places not only as pretty places, but also as an antidote to urbanization and poor health.

Parks help moderate temperatures, reduce pollution, address storm water issues, provide habitat for birds and other wildlife, provide opportunities for physical exercise, and are essential in helping us. to fight against the effects of climate change. Access to parks and public spaces has been shown to reduce rates of asthma and heat-related illnesses. And physical activity fights cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.

Do you think Olmsted’s vision is relevant today?

Olmsted’s ability to see the intersection of social, civic and environmental well-being is incredible. We have moved away from that, however. Not everyone has access or is comfortable in our public spaces, and this, in and of itself, is a public health problem. We need to bring together different professions to reinvent our public places so that they can promote the health and well-being of all communities, as Olmsted envisioned.

We must also involve the communities that surround these spaces in the decision-making process. The pandemic has helped us reconsider the importance of public space for our well-being, as many of us have sought refuge outside. But some populations are less likely to have access to opportunities for physical activity and are more likely to be exposed to environmental pollutants.

One of the goals of Olmsted 200 is to try to educate the American public about the importance of parks and public spaces to our physical and mental health. Parks are essential public infrastructure, and the principles underlying their design – democratic spaces, physical and mental health, community – should govern their creation and maintenance.

How to enhance the importance of parks and public spaces for all?

We need more investment in parks, especially in underserved communities – long-term sustainable funding. Unfortunately, parks and public spaces are at the bottom of the list when it comes to resources. We have to do a better job. We believe that parks are essential public infrastructure, that they are not a luxury, which is often the way they are viewed. Knowing the health benefits that access to these parks can bring, it is crucial that we have the resources behind them.

A number of Olmsted 200 partners have formally supported the Parks, Employment and Equity Act to provide more extensive and permanent funding to parks. Our website, Olmsted.org, offers webinars for park officials to help them apply for funding that already exists. The parks are not autonomous.

We need stewardship to take care of these spaces for the long term. Olmsted 200 aims to show people the value and importance of equitable and accessible parks and public spaces. We have resources and toolkits and a national calendar of events in parks and landscapes across the country and I hope everyone participates.

Learn more about the public health benefits of parks by Kate Robb, APHA MSPH, and around APHA health community design.

Photo: Two women run through Central Park in New York City, one of many public parks designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Photo by LeoPatrizi, courtesy of iStockphoto.