Greening Penang Rules
By Dr Matt Benson, Stuart Macdonald
July 2025 FEATURE
IF PENANG WANTS to maintain its status as one of the most liveable cities in the region, investing in quality green spaces is a given path to take—they have multiple co-benefits, from acting as places of respite to encouraging physical activity, while offering natural habitats for other living things. It is also well established that proximity to nature has a positive effect on mental health; one study suggests that a 90-minute nature walk reduces depression.[1] One other benefit that is gaining...
Dr Matt Benson
is a Senior Director at Think City. He is a geographer specialising in the challenges of urbanisation.
Stuart Macdonald
is a fellow and head of Urban Studies at Penang Institute.
