The Health Economics Business Case for Green Space

From reducing air and water pollution and moderating surface temperatures, to providing opportunities for physical activity and relaxation, greenspaces provide many physical and mental health benefits. But can we measure these health benefits in terms of monetary savings in order to convince decision-makers that protecting and enhancing greenspace is an environmentally and economically responsible decision for our community?

The answer is yes. This Conceptual Framework to Understand the Business Case for EcoHealth in Ontario is being used by conservationists, public health professionals and others to communicate the monetary value of health benefits associated with greenspace investment, including reduced illness and death, decreased use of health services and increased productivity.

This Case Study: Increasing Tree Canopy, Brampton, Ontario estimated the annual net benefits of increasing tree canopy by 50 % to be $2.5 million, with health system savings achieved through reduced exposure to extreme heat days, improved air quality and increased physical activity.

This Case Study: Downtown Urban Park, Peterborough, Ontario demonstrated that a new urban park could result in health system savings of $4.2 million annually, with a return on investment from park development costs in 1.5 years.

Effectively communicating these health system savings to local decision-makers can help inform municipal budgets for investments in greenspace, helping communities grow in a more healthy, resilient and economically sustainable manner.

Similar tools are helping prioritize projects to protect and enhance the natural environment for climate resiliency. These tools incorporate a wide range of greenspace, community health and health equity benefits including flood control, air quality improvements, surface temperature regulation and reduction in social vulnerability. Including these metrics when making decisions on nature-based climate solution projects, is an important step in building more climate-resilient and equitable communities.

The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority applied their Nature-Based Climate Solutions Siting Tool to the Humber River watershed to identify priority locations based on ecological value and population need. Priority areas included: areas with little natural cover and where the population was characterized by high levels of deprivation, higher rates of chronic health conditions, and low access to greenspace.

The increased threat to the urban forest from climate change and development pressures, and municipalities’ limited budgets to maintain existing trees and plant new trees, prompted Peel Region to develop a Tree Planting Prioritization Tool that considers environmental, social and economic sustainability metrics. These include: mitigation of urban heat island effects and air pollution, support for physical health and emotional well-being, and enhancement of social equity and economic value. The tool generates maps of where tree planting would have the greatest benefits. These include areas with a higher proportion of groups at increased risk of experiencing heat-related illness – older adults, people with chronic illnesses, socially disadvantaged individuals and newcomers.

While research linking natural environments to positive health outcomes and health equity helps increase awareness and support for protection and enhancement of green space, providing the health economic business case for investments in green space using tools outlined above, may have greater potential to influence local decision-making on green space policies, programs and projects that truly account for health.