More than 50 years ago, Irvine’s master planners made a bold bet: that preserving nature would keep a city healthy and happy. They locked in a third of the future metropolis as parks, trails and open space – a move that looks visionary today as doctors and scientists increasingly tout time spent in open space as good medicine.

Irvine Company’s decision wasn’t just aesthetic; it was rooted in a belief that nature should be as central to daily life as schools or shopping centers. That balance between natural environments and man-made ones has since become a national model for urban planning.

Meanwhile, Irvine’s prescience keeps paying off at home. WalletHub and the American College of Sports Medicine rank Irvine residents among the nation’s fittest, credidting not only first-rate health care but also the city’s easy access to the outdoors. More than 90% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park – more than 20 points higher than the big-city average, according to the Trust for Public Land.

On Irvine’s many sunny days, children ride bikes to school on tree-lined paths; people stroll along Jeffrey Open Space Trail; and families picnic in one of the city’s community parks. Public health experts portray that kind of everyday activity as an engine of longevity.

“If we had a medicine that delivered as many benefits as parks, we would all be taking it,” says Howard Frumkin, a former Trust for Public Land vice president. “Parks deliver cardiovascular benefits, fight loneliness, combat osteoporosis, counter stress and anxiety and more.”

Science backs him up. Recent research shows that:

  • Just 15 minutes in nature can measurably lift mood and reduce anxiety, according to a 2025 meta-analysis of nearly 6,000 city dwellers.
  • Green space lowers chronic disease risk, including diabetes and cardiovascular deaths, as another major 2025 review concluded.
  • In Greater London, neighborhoods with more visible greenery had nearly 4% fewer hypertension prescriptions than less leafy areas, scientists revealed in 2024.
  • Providing more residential green space could help reduce childhood obesity, according to a 2024 study using satellite imagery and health records of 843 children.

For Irvine, it all adds up to a city where parks are much more than amenities – they’re a major feature of the public health system.