Park Benches in England

When was the last time your municipality conducted a study of their Park Benches?

The city of Norwich in eastern England recently initiated a project to survey the location and condition of their park benches along with other factors. They came up with some results that surprised them.

Here's a quick overview of what they discovered:

There were 412 park bench seats Those benches created a capacity of 1,582 places to sit 234 park benches had backs 122 had armrests There were 112 benches with both back and armrests 68 park benches required cleaning 37 benches needed repairs It was recommended that

Because of a massive tree-planting effort and other "green" activities, London was declared the World's First National Park City

As urban areas continue to attract more people and expand, there will be more pressure on them to develop spaces for office, commercial and residential needs.

However, there is also a movement pushing in the other direction to make a city more like a park.

For example, London has been designated as the world's first National Park City.

That announcement was made by the National Park City Foundation which is led by environmentalist Daniel Raven-Ellison. The charity works in conjunction with World Urban Parks, a high-profile organization that promotes parks and green space in cities.

What is National Park City?

First of all, according to National Park City's website, the designation

The benefits of "Forest Bathing" on a park bench

Want to boost your mood? Lower your blood pressure? Relax? Reenergize?

Take a "Forest Bath" in your local park or wooded area.

Forest bathing is a practice that began in Japan in the 1980s and is catching on worldwide.

During that time in Japan, health practitioners began to notice the toll that the increased industrialization of the country was having on workers. Those long hours created more stress, irritability and health issues.

Americans would be smart to pay attention to this practice as well. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average US resident spends 93% of their time indoors.

To find a simple and inexpensive remedy for this ailment, the experts in Japan suggested citizens get out of the house and into the woods.

In essence, immerse themselves in

There is a new friendly park bench movement taking place that encourages people to meet and chat

Park Benches have many purposes.

One might be to relax and take in the greenery, fresh air and sunshine.

Another is to socialize with friends or relatives.

The challenge today is that many people don't have someone to talk to. This is especially true for the elderly, handicapped, people with learning disabilities or mental illness.

While we live in an electronic society where people from different parts of their county can meet and converse on a computer, there is a giant void out there in the real world for people to meet in person.

Some people want to change that. There is a new movement popping up to provide "chat" or "friendly" park benches in local towns.

The concept is modeled after the "Buddy Bench" which has soared in

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New recycled plastic benches installed on a Madeline Ferry Line boat

You may have noticed that the commercial site furnishings business is seeing a major shift from traditional wooden benches to the use of innovative and environmentally-friendly Recycled Plastic Benches.

This is taking place for a number of reasons.

Here are some of them:

Advancements in Recycling Technology: When manufacturers first started reusing plastic scrap and building products, there were many issues. The plastic sometimes would ha