Urban health, green space and physical activity (GREEN-PA)

The importance of reducing physical inactivity for multiple benefits is increasingly recognized. Providing green spaces has health and other benefits particularly in youth, older people and socially disadvantaged groups, and is recognized as a promising approach to promoting PA in all population groups.

Physical activity (PA) has been identified as an important pathway of the green space and health relationship but open questions remain.

The GREEN-PA network originates from a research proposal, which was submitted in fall 2018. It included 48 letters of support, from 16 research groups, 13 implementation / practice related bodies and 5 networks from 15 countries on 4 continents and 14 Swiss stakeholders. While the proposal, as one out of 3 in the final round, has not been selected, the network continues to exist in an informal manner, responding to the clear support from the supporters across disciplines and continents.

The goals of the network can be found here.

Since then, activities included e.g. regular coordinating team meetings, a pre-conference workshop in 2019, a network survey in 2020, and a collaborative statement paper submission in 2022.