Research

Urban green spaces are good for human health for many different reasons: they help us relax, they reduce the air temperature during the summer, etc. Furthermore, they put us in touch with nature and biodiversity - two vital elements that urban citizens often have low contact with. There is also a hidden benefit that you may not have heard about - the tiny microorganisms that live in urban green spaces.

Several hypotheses, such as the Old Friends and Biodiversity hypotheses, suggest that by being exposed to the biodiverse natural microorganisms that humans co-evolved with during hunter-gatherer times (=old friends), our immune system gets trained and regulated. This can lead to less allergies, asthma, and other immune diseases that are on the rise in urban areas. We believe that urban green spaces have the potential to house such microbes!

In this project, we organise citizen-science studies to investigate if urban green spaces can house biodiverse microorganisms that might be good for the human immune system. With these studies, we explore which microorganisms can be found in urban green areas. We also explore how we interact with them (for example, while walking in the park), and how they might train our immune system. A specific goal is to include children and other vulnerable populations that would benefit from contact with urban green the most.

Indeed, while urban green spaces are highly beneficial, not all people have equal access to urban green. This is why in addition to our citizen science initiative, we will launch a survey to understand people’s relationship with urban green spaces (e.g., preferences, concerns) in Belgium. With this, we want to identify key problems and potential solutions regarding urban green design. After all, our vision is to help transform urban green into free, health-promoting spaces accessible for everyone. By participating in the survey, citizens can use their voices to help improve the design and planning of their city!

Do you want to join us in this ground-breaking effort to boost public health through microbial biodiversity in urban green spaces? Follow us on our social media to be notified when the survey is out!