THE VALUE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND OPEN SPACE
4. Open spaces and sports facilities enrich our quality of life and our environments. Access to good quality open space and opportunities for physical activity have a significant positive effect on health and wellbeing. Spaces and purpose-built facilities which encourage people to play sports and to walk, run or cycle are essential to a healthy, physically active community, while the presence of tranquil green spaces close to where people live and work can encourage relaxation.
5. Civic and public open spaces are important ingredients in good urban design, providing meeting places and enhancing the streetscene. An environment which contains good quality, well-maintained open space is more attractive to business and investment and improving the open spaces within an area can help reverse patterns of decline.
6. Areas for horticulture, such as allotments, can be of great value to the local community and offer benefits for the environment. They create an opportunity for local food production, encourage physical activity and healthy eating, offer a place to relax and to learn, and contribute to local biodiversity.
7. Open space which is protected from development can provide habitats for wildlife and attractive, relatively wild settings for recreation and relaxation as well as physical activity. Many people enjoy restorative, stress-reducing effects from visiting such places. They can also provide a rich and accessible resource for education.
8. Rural areas also support outdoor recreation in a wide range of settings including hills, moors, forests, coasts and inland water. These places enable people to encounter Scotland's natural heritage at first hand, and can provide rich experiences which greatly enhance their quality of life. Outdoor recreation is often of considerable importance to the rural economy.