+0.10 SD
better overall cognitive function after ecological zone policy
Exact: +0.0993 SD
NKEFZs implementation improved overall cognitive function by 0.0993 standard deviations
Across 92,825 adults in a large-scale longitudinal survey, the NKEFZs ecological policy was associated with a nearly 0.1 standard deviation gain in composite cognitive function scores. The effect was mediated by enhanced health status, reduced depression, and increased outdoor exercise. Older and lower-income individuals experienced less pronounced benefits, highlighting equity concerns.
our findings indicate that NKEFZs implementation is associated with significant improvements in cognitive outcomes, with cognitive scores increasing by 0.0291 standard deviations for vocabulary, 0.0703 for mathematical scores, and 0.0993 for overall cognitive function.
Related findings
24 sessions
length of the garden-based healing and learning program delivered to young adults with intellectual disabilities
A 24-session, three-month garden-based program improved psychological stability, social relationships, and individual capabilities in YAwID
Dohun Kim et al., 2025, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
+38%
elderly people who received flowers had better episodic memory
Elderly participants who received flowers scored higher on episodic memory tasks than those who did not
Jeannette Haviland-Jones et al., 2005, Evolutionary Psychology
81%
more bouquets meant more elderly recipients reduced their depression scores
Receiving two flower bouquets was associated with the highest rate of depression score reduction in elderly participants
Jeannette Haviland-Jones et al., 2005, Evolutionary Psychology
Read more in
Healthcare 
Education What school spaces do to children
Where the evidence on classroom air, acoustics, light and green is robust, where it is thin, and what to measure before the build.
Workplace What your office costs
Four design variables that move cognitive performance and who pays for them
More from The Built Review
Workplace Pricing biophilia: what the evidence is worth
Read at the primary sources, the business case for nature in buildings is narrower than advertised and strong enough to act on.
Healthcare Built to Wake: How Hospital Noise and Light Undermine Patient Sleep
Of the two environmental levers on inpatient sleep, noise control is the better proven and the cheaper, while tunable lighting for the general ward is the one the evidence does not yet support.
Workplace Germany's missing indoor-air bill
France, Britain and Australia have priced bad indoor air. Germany's missing number is a political choice, not a methodological limit.