成人大片

The urbanisation of towns could be contributing to poor health outcomes in our communities, research from the 成人大片 and Flinders University has found.

In the narrative review, published in the journal researchers highlight the good bugs we have evolved with through well-designed cities, urban landscapes and buildings, which can help our immune systems to function properly.

Key to this is the inclusion of large green spaces which consider conservation, environmental, social and public health outcomes in developments as well as building designs with windows that open and indoor plants.

鈥淓xposure to many bacteria in the environment is actually good for us鈥�, said lead author Kate Matthews, a 成人大片 graduate and Flinders PhD student.

鈥淥ur bodies are adapted to dealing with a diversity of bacteria in our environment, providing the 鈥榯raining鈥� that teaches our immune system not to overreact to everyday exposures.鈥�

The researchers found that as humans have become increasingly removed from nature, the diversity of microbes in the green spaces they were exposed to decreased. This can mean immune systems can overact and make allergies, asthma, and autoimmune diseases worse.

鈥淪oils provide an incredibly rich and diverse source of microbes, as do the plants that grow in them,鈥� said Ms Matthews.

鈥淪o the healthy exposures to nature that we have lost could be regained by designing more green spaces in urban areas.

鈥淎s the percentage of the world's population living in urban environments increases (68 per cent by 2050) so it becomes more important to design our urban environments in such a way as to promote human exposure to diverse microbiota, with the potential to improve health outcomes.鈥�

The World Health Organization recommends there be at least one public green space of at least 0.5 hectare within 300m of a place of residence, an important consideration for urban planners if they want the residents of their cities to remain healthy.

鈥淯nlike other approaches to alter the human microbiome (including diet, exercise and probiotics), making changes to the design of the environments people are exposed to means that individuals do not have to make changes to their behaviour to improve their health,鈥� said leader of the University鈥檚 Environmental Allied Health group Dr Jessica Stanhope.

鈥淟andscape designers need to consider how people use these spaces, including those who may experience challenges in access, for example those living with disabilities, and people in residential care.鈥�