Urban greenspace under a changing climate: Benefit or harm for allergies and respiratory health?

Tianyu Zhao^{1

2}, Joachim Heinrich^{1

2

3}, Michael Brauer^{4

5}, Nir Fulman^{6

7}, Nur Sabrina Idrose³, Clemens Baumbach^{1

2}, Jeroen Buters⁸, Iana Markevych^{9

10

11}, Beate Ritz¹², Rachel Tham^{3

13}, Bo-Yi Yang¹⁴, Xiao-Wen Zeng¹⁴, Samer Alashhab⁸, Zhao-Huan Gui¹⁴, Li-Zi Lin¹⁴, Dennis Nowak^{1

2}, Maya Sadeh^{15

16}, Nitika Singh¹⁷, Guang-Hui Dong¹⁴, Elaine Fuertes^{18

19}

Affiliations

¹ Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
² Comprehensive Pneumology Center Munich (CPC-M), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Munich, Germany.
³ Allergy and Lung Health Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
⁴ Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
⁵ University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
⁶ Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
⁷ GIScience Research Group, Institute of Geography, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
⁸ Center of Allergy and Environment (ZAUM), Technical University of Munich, School of Medicine and Health & Helmholtz Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany.
⁹ Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland.
¹⁰ Research Group "Health and Quality of Life in a Green and Sustainable Environment," Strategic Research and Innovation Program for the Development of MU-Plovdiv, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
¹¹ Environmental Health Division, Research Institute at Medical University of Plovdiv, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
¹² Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
¹³ Department of Medicine, Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
¹⁴ Joint International Research Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
¹⁵ Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
¹⁶ The Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, Jerusalem, Israel.
¹⁷ Institute for Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center (DDZ), Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
¹⁸ National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
¹⁹ MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.

PMID: 39957764
PMCID: PMC11826049
DOI: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000372

Review

Urban greenspace under a changing climate: Benefit or harm for allergies and respiratory health?

Tianyu Zhao et al. Environ Epidemiol. 2025.

. 2025 Feb 12;9(2):e372.

doi: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000372. eCollection 2025 Apr.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
² Comprehensive Pneumology Center Munich (CPC-M), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Munich, Germany.
³ Allergy and Lung Health Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
⁴ Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
⁵ University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
⁶ Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
⁷ GIScience Research Group, Institute of Geography, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
⁸ Center of Allergy and Environment (ZAUM), Technical University of Munich, School of Medicine and Health & Helmholtz Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany.
⁹ Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland.
¹⁰ Research Group "Health and Quality of Life in a Green and Sustainable Environment," Strategic Research and Innovation Program for the Development of MU-Plovdiv, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
¹¹ Environmental Health Division, Research Institute at Medical University of Plovdiv, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
¹² Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
¹³ Department of Medicine, Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
¹⁴ Joint International Research Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
¹⁵ Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
¹⁶ The Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, Jerusalem, Israel.
¹⁷ Institute for Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center (DDZ), Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
¹⁸ National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
¹⁹ MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.

PMID: 39957764
PMCID: PMC11826049
DOI: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000372

Abstract

An increasing proportion of the world's population lives in urban settings that have limited greenspace. Urbanization puts pressure on existing greenspace and reduces its access. Climate impacts, including increased temperature and extreme weather events, challenge the maintenance of urban vegetation, reducing its ecosystem services and benefits for human health. Although urban greenspace has been positively associated with numerous health indicators, the evidence for allergies and respiratory health is much less clear and mixed. To address these uncertainties, a workshop with 20 global participants was held in Munich, Germany, in May 2024, focusing on the impact of greenspace-related co-exposures on allergies and respiratory health. This narrative review captures key insights from the workshop, including the roles of urban greenspace in (1) climate change mitigation, (2) interactions with pollen, and (3) emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds and their byproducts, such as ozone. Additionally, it presents research and stakeholder recommendations from the workshop. Future studies that integrate advanced greenspace exposure assessments and consider the interplay of greenspace with pollen and biogenic volatile organic compounds, along with their relevant byproducts are needed. Increased public awareness and policy actions will also be essential for developing urban greenspace that maximizes health benefits, minimizes risks, and ensures resilience amid a changing climate and rapid urbanization.

Keywords: Climate change; Epidemiology; Greenspace; Hypersensitivity; Lung function; Ozone; Pollen; Volatile organic compounds.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with regard to the content of this report.

Figures

**Figure 1.**
Pathways through which greenspace and its associated co-exposures may influence allergies and respiratory health in a changing climate.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. World Bank Group. Urban development. 2025. Available at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/overview. Accessed 14 January 2025.
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Urban greenspace under a changing climate: Benefit or harm for allergies and respiratory health?

Affiliations

Urban greenspace under a changing climate: Benefit or harm for allergies and respiratory health?

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources

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