A presentation about parks, nature, and why they are really important
by: [Your Name Here]
In this presentation I will argue that cities do not have enough green space and that this is a big problem. I will show data and evidence to prove my point.
Topics covered in this presentation:
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Cities today are growing really fast. But they are not adding enough parks and trees. This is causing a lot of problems for the people who live there.
Here are some scary statistics:
of city people report
chronic stress
hotter in cities
than rural areas
more anxiety
in urban areas
Urban Heat - Cities are much hotter than areas with trees:
As you can see in the chart above, having more green space makes the temperature way lower
There is a LOT of scientific research showing that green space is good for you. Here are 4 main benefits:
Studies show just 2 hours per week in nature makes people WAY happier and less stressed. (source: Science journal 2019)
Trees can lower the temperature by up to 8 degrees! Green roofs also help buildings use 25% less energy in summer.
Green areas absorb 40% more water than concrete. This means way less flooding during big storms
Houses near parks are worth 15-20% MORE money. The city also gets $3-7 back for every $1 they spend on parks.
I looked up data on different cities to see how much green space they have. The results were really interesting! Cities with more green space had better health scores.
| City | Green Space per Person | % of City = Parks | Heat Island | Happiness Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vienna, Austria | 120 m² | 45% | +2.1°C | 8.4/10 | A+ |
| Singapore | 66 m² | 30% | +2.8°C | 7.8/10 | A |
| Portland, OR | 55 m² | 20% | +3.4°C | 7.2/10 | B+ |
| New York City | 26 m² | 14% | +5.1°C | 6.3/10 | C |
| Los Angeles | 18 m² | 9% | +5.9°C | 6.0/10 | C- |
| Houston, TX | 12 m² | 6% | +6.8°C | 5.5/10 | D |
| Jakarta | 6 m² | 2.6% | +7.4°C | 4.8/10 | F |
Data sources: WHO, OECD reports. The WHO says cities should have at least 9 m² of green space per person.
As you can see, cities with more parks are doing way better This proves my argument that we need more green space.
In conclusion, I have shown that green space is SUPER important for cities. Here are my recommendations for what cities should do:
Every person should be able to see 3 trees from their home, have 30% canopy in their neighborhood, and be within 300 meters of a park. This is a real rule that experts came up with!
When new buildings get built, they should be required to have green roofs and plant trees. This would help a lot and not cost too much extra money.
Cities have WAY too many parking lots (like 30% of the land). Even turning 10% of them into parks would make a huge difference for everyone.
Low income areas have 25-40% less trees than rich areas. That is not fair. The city should fix this by putting more parks in neighborhoods that need them.
Thank you for reading my presentation I hope I convinced you that cities need more green space