Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration Commons^™

Research Club Speaker Series - Dr. Matthew Browning, Matthew Browning

Dean of Libraries Research Club Series

Public awareness of the importance of nature and the Great Outdoors rose sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. People around the world yearned to be in parks, gardens, urban forests, and blue spaces with water. Lockdown measures severed travel to stress-reducing destinations and focused interest in restorative qualities of the home and neighborhood. Long before COVID-19, planners, architects, designers, ecologists, and engineers advocated for parks and other forms of green infrastructure and its array of ecosystem services. Experimental and epidemiological research shows that nature and being outdoors can improve mental/physical health and well-being as well as catalyze social change, thus reducing …