People move to cities for many reasons but better life prospects – jobs, higher wages, access to education and a perception that urban areas are where modern life takes place – feature highly. Quality of life can be measured using a wide range of criteria: levels of income, health, educational attainment, access to cultural facilities and so on. Among these is the availability of opportunities for recreation in gardens, parks, woodlands, other natural areas, along rivers or lake shores, if available. There is increasing evidence that conveniently accessible green and open spaces – meaning close enough to where people live to permit them to go whenever they wish without the need to use transport or to have to walk for a long time – helps people to overcome their stress, to increase levels of exercise and allows children to play freely (see a literature review I did for Greenspace Scotland in 2008, www.greenspacescotland.org.uk).
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