Nature walks are good for you, but can a city stroll be just as good?

With every step on the trail, fallen leaves crinkle underfoot. The path follows a stream, rushing and burbling over smooth, gray stones, while a breeze rustles the branches overhead. Now compare that blissful mental image to what you might walk past in a city — traffic, crowds, concrete and glass. Which seems better for you?

With every step on the trail, fallen leaves crinkle underfoot. The path follows a stream, rushing and burbling over smooth, gray stones, while a breeze rustles the branches overhead. Now compare that blissful mental image to what you might walk past in a city — traffic, crowds, concrete and glass. Which seems better for you?

Walking in nature has been shown to boost physical and mental health, lowering stress and restoring attention. But researchers are finding plenty of mental-health benefits to walking in urban areas, too.

You just have to find the right path and pay attention to your surroundings.

Don’t underestimate street trees

“Look at the green,” said Whitney Fleming, an environmental psychology researcher at Bangor University in Wales, U.K. “Most cities have greenery. No matter where you are, you can find a nice tree.”

She noted that walking — considered moderate exercise — is good for you in general; it can lower the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, dementia, depression and many types of cancer. Walking in nature goes beyond the benefits of physical movement: “Humans have an innate, evolutionary tendency to like nature.”

Fleming’s research has found that people who were asked to pay attention to plant life while walking were significantly less anxious afterward than those asked to focus on human-made elements. The former group also reported feeling more positive emotions.

“Having natural elements to look at in cities is really important in terms of these effects, because you can still receive benefits even when not in a natural setting,” she said.