A research team from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia has suggested the several inexpensive ways of cleaning trash and the plantation of new grass and trees in vacant lands might reduce peoples’ feelings of worthlessness and depression.

Dr. Eugenia South, the lead author from the University of Pennsylvania said, “As an emergency medicine physician, I see the downstream effects that poverty and neighborhood environment have on health all the time. You can’t escape your environment. It is with you day in and day out. We know it is going to have an impact on both physical and mental health and my goal is to make that impact a positive one.”

South further added, “For people living in areas with dilapidated neighborhood environments, that impact is likely to be negative. Vacant lot greening is a simple and relatively low-cost neighborhood intervention that can turn an unhealthy environment into a healthy one.”

The inexpensive detailed greening intervention includes debris removal, land grading, plantation of new grass and trees, installation of a low wooden perimeter fence with openings, and regular maintenance.

Jerrett, a research team member with the Fielding School of Public Health from the University of California, Los Angeles, said the current study was able to “eliminate, or at least greatly minimize, the chance of the self-selection bias influencing the results, so that you’re getting something that’s starting to approximate what you would get in a randomized, controlled trial.”