Health facilities and open spaces: integrated policies at the landscape

The paper examines the relationship between health facilities and open spaces from a landscape and territorial point of view, considering not just the hospital closest surroundings, but also more distant areas. Such an approach might appear not in line with the present book, but it can suggest nonetheless new possibilities and ideas in a global review of the current planning policies and practices, as far as the enjoyment and usage of common goods and public services are concerned. As a matter of fact, the open spaces’ network is a connection system of different green areas and natural amenities, inside and outside the city, comprising a variety of functions at different levels. Therefore, it has to be carefully planned in a strategic and multi-scalar way, in order to preserve the highest possible degree of biodiversity, as a primary element for our environmental comfort, health and wellbeing. By some national and international examples, we want to show how a different use of natural parks and other protected areas could represent a precious opportunity, still unexplored, for human health and social wellbeing. Sometimes hospitals, especially if located within the city boundaries, are quite far away from the largest natural areas, nevertheless a new possible connection between each other could foster innovative planning policies and give back vitality. This would imply to overcome the old and boring quarrel about passive or active nature conservancy, in favour of a dynamic and comprehensive management of landscape as a common good, involving various private or public bodies, institutions and social-health service providers, which are not sharing plans and policies yet. In many cases, however, hospital facilities are close indeed to highly valuable open spaces. Thus, from a territorial perspective, they could establish fruitful and innovative relations in many respects: functionally, therapeutically, formally and perceptually. Moreover, the economic crisis we are still passing through, might even convince someone that the protection of nature in the parks is a luxury we cannot afford anymore. But the scientific research of the last decades has highlighted how a loss in biodiversity can undermine human health and comfort, whereas living in close contact with nature has very good effects on our physical and mental wellbeing. People today have an increasing need to restore a balance with the natural environment, in order to improve the quality of their own life. Worldwide, some experimental projects in forest-therapy and eco-therapy, in parks and natural areas, are very interesting not only for obvious positive outcomes in terms of mental and physical health, but also for very good social, ethic and economic prospects. These new experiences can relaunch strongly the key role of natural parks and protected areas, supporting both their primary goals’ achievement and their further contribution to the cultural, social and economic development of contemporary world.