Search Here

It is a tested fact that a walk along the countryside or a stroll is a great way to boost your mood. Even health experts suggest that going out of the city improves your mental and physical health. However, according to a new study a walk along the suburban river or beautiful architecture too have similar impact on your health or happiness levels. The researchers at the University of Warwick say that what matter is the scenery and not just the green pastures that contributes to a healthy and positive environment. Hence, for Londoners who feel pressured by their daily life routines and are unable to find time to get out of the city can walk along Thames or gaze up at St. Paul's Cathedral for uplifting their mood, as reported by Architect Magazine.

For the purpose of the study, the people were asked the rate more than 212,000 pictures of Britain on 'scenic beauty' with regards to the landscapes that made them feel healthy. These findings were then compared with the results of the 1.5 residents that lived in that area and how they felt about their health, reported 2011 Census. The researchers revealed that the areas perceived by people as most uplifting and scenic were in fact not green at all. Hence the research says that it is the combination of factors such as design and architecture that together improve the health and happiness of people and not just greenery and parks. "This is a fascinating finding," said Chanuki Seresinhe, a PhD student in the Data Science Lab at Warwick Business School. "Just because a place is green does not compel us to feel better on its own. It seems to be that the beauty of the environment, as measured by scenicness, is of crucial importance. "Our results suggest that the beauty of our everyday environment might have more practical importance than was previously believed.

"In order to ensure the wellbeing of local inhabitant urban planners and policymakers might find it valuable to consider the aesthetics of the environment when embarking upon large projects to build new parks, housing developments or highways. Our findings imply that simply introducing greenery, without considering the beauty of the resulting environment, might not be enough," says Telegraph