Green urban design M
aybe you take walks in the
Mallory moore is a second year at the University of Chicago, majoring in History and minoring in English/Creative Writing. On campus, Mallory is a board member of Lean On Me and an Events Ambassador at the Institute of Politics, in addition to writing for SISR. In her free time, Mallory enjoys reading, taking long walks along the lake, and going out for brunch (objectively the best meal of the day).
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THE TRIPLE HELIX Winter 2020
park and instantly feel relaxed and rejuvenated. Maybe you moved to Chicago and were surprised by how much the city’s density and interminably grey skies impacted your emotions. Whether you realize it or not, you have experienced firsthand the impact of built and natural environments on your psyche. Urban design and, more specifically, access to urban green spaces matter. Urban green spaces shape community interactions at large, but they also affect how individuals experience emotions while moving around an urban landscape.
In 2017, a team of researchers at the University of Malaya in Malaysia collaborated to clearly define the terminology of urban green spaces, previously a gap in urban scholarship. They defined urban open green space as “an urban area with a semi-natural ecosystem”.6 More simply, “urban green spaces are all types of public or private open spaces in urban areas which are completely or mostly covered with vegetation”.6 While composed of natural phenomena, UGSs are intentionally cultivated by humans to © 2020, The Triple Helix, Inc. All rights reserved.
