Rethinking prison landscapes: Why green space must be central to penal reform

In this expert blog for Penal Reform International, authors Dominique Moran and Emma Widdop argue that green spaces in prisons should be treated as essential infrastructure rather than optional extras, highlighting their proven benefits for safety, wellbeing and rehabilitation. A new UK-developed framework shows that biodiverse landscapes can reduce violence and self-harm, ease stress, and even strengthen rehabilitation prospects as well as security through thoughtful natural design, while also improving climate resilience. Outdated prisons can also benefit significantly from small, carefully planned landscape interventions. Ultimately, the authors contend that nature-rich prison environments uphold dignity, meet international standards, and foster conditions for genuine reform.

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Prisons are often built with security in mind. Yet new research shows that their landscapes – where these include gardens and green spaces—can be just as critical for safety, wellbeing, and rehabilitation. 

A new set of Design Principles for Prison Landscapes, developed by academics in the UK in consultation with international experts, argues that nature contact should no longer be treated as a luxury in prison settings, but as a core element of infrastructure. This blog explores why, and how, integrating green space into prison design can promote dignity, improve safety, and support reintegration into society.

Green space should not be an optional extra

For decades, prison landscapes have been seen as a potential risk: places where contraband might be hidden, where sightlines could be blocked, or where natural materials could be weaponised. These concerns are real, but they have too often led to environments stripped of vegetation, dominated by bare yards and high fences. 

The evidence now paints a different picture. Research in England and Wales shows that prisons with higher levels of green space have lower rates of self-harm and violence, and reduced sickness absence for staff (Moran et al 2022a, Moran et al 2022b). For people detained, the ability to see trees, flowers, or even seasonal changes through a cell window can relieve stress, regulate emotions, and restore a sense of connection to the outside world. 

One person in a UK prison put it simply: “To look out my window and see different coloured flowers really can change how you feel just like that.”

Security through landscape, not against it 

Perhaps surprisingly, green design can enhance rather than undermine prison security. Strategically placed trees can disrupt drone flights, mounded terrain can shape surveillance, and layered planting can define movement corridors without harsh barriers. 

In other words, landscapes can be part of a layered security strategy that relies less on razor wire and more on thoughtful, natural design. In this context, landscape elements are not decorative, they are functional tools within the prison’s spatial logic.  

This aligns with the Nelson Mandela Rules which stress that security must be pursued without undermining dignity. 

Well-designed landscapes offer more than passive visual relief, they create active, living environments that support positive routines, sensory engagement, and a sense of temporal rhythm through seasonal change. These are essential to mental health and emotional regulation, especially in highly controlled settings. 

Biodiversity is good for wellbeing – and resilience 

Research also shows that the benefits of green space are magnified where biodiversity is high (Moran et al 2024). In prisons where wildflowers, pollinator plants, and trees attract insects and birds, the positive effects are stronger than in spaces with grass alone. 

Biodiverse landscapes also improve the resilience of prison estates, helping with stormwater management, cooling buildings in hot weather, and absorbing air pollution. These functions matter as prisons—many of them ageing—grapple with the impacts of climate change. They also offer dynamic ecological systems that evolve over time, creating an ever-changing environment that contrasts with the often static nature of imprisonment. 

Investing in biodiversity is therefore not just about aesthetics; it’s about supporting both people and ecosystems to thrive. 

Designing with inclusion and trauma in mind 

No two people experience imprisonment in the same way. Older people, women, people with disabilities, and those who are neurodivergent often encounter particular barriers in prison environments. 

Trauma-informed design seeks to address these barriers by creating spaces that feel safe, legible, and dignified. In practice, this might mean ensuring clear sightlines to reduce anxiety, providing choices of shaded or active areas so individuals can regulate their environment, and including multi-faith reflective spaces. For neurodivergent individuals or those with sensory sensitivities, varied landscape textures, smells, and sounds can provide both grounding and comfort. 

These considerations are not cosmetic. They are about recognising that many people in prison have histories of trauma, and that environments can either re-trigger or help to heal. 

Landscapes as spaces of rehabilitation and renewal 

Green spaces can also be used actively as sites of learning and rehabilitation. These spaces, such as gardens, orchards, or designed ecological zones can serve as immersive learning environments, teaching not just skills but systems thinking, patience, resilience and responsibility. Horticulture programmes, food production, and grounds maintenance work all provide transferable skills that can support reintegration after release. 

Participating in gardening or landscape projects can also build confidence, responsibility, and teamwork. One of the principles in the design framework highlights the value of prisoner-led maintenance: not only is it cost-effective, but it allows people to take ownership of their environment and see tangible results from their labour. 

Caption: HMP Kingston, UK, Andy Aitchison

This reflects the Mandela Rules on education and vocational training, which emphasise preparing people for life after prison. 

Retrofitting existing prisons 

While new prisons offer opportunities for landscape-led design from the outset, the majority of prisons are older, crowded, and constrained by limited space. Retrofitting these environments with green interventions is both possible and essential. 

Examples include: 

• Introducing raised planters or wildflower strips in exercise yards. 
• Installing rain gardens or green roofs to manage stormwater. 
• Deploying prison industries to produce benches, planters, and other outdoor features. 

Even small changes—such as providing views onto a patch of planting rather than a blank wall—can deliver measurable benefits. Where space is limited, vertical planting, pocket gardens, and living walls can maximise impact without compromising security. 

A cost-effective and sustainable approach 

Sceptics might ask: can prisons afford this? The evidence suggests they cannot afford not to. Durable planting and sustainable drainage systems reduce long-term maintenance costs. Hardy native plants can thrive with minimal care, while promoting biodiversity and reducing the ecological footprint of the estate. Prisoner-led gardening schemes reduce staff workloads. And healthier environments reduce costs linked to violence, poor mental health, and staff turnover. 

Caption: Multi-faith gardens at Hopkins Correctional Centre, Australia, Guymer Bailey Architects

By adopting circular economy approaches—for example, composting food waste or using recycled materials for furniture—prisons can save money while modelling sustainability. These strategies align directly with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, from health and wellbeing to climate action and sustainable communities. 

The importance of participation 

Perhaps most importantly, designing effective landscapes requires participation. Too often, people in prison are excluded from decisions about their environment. Co-design approaches—where staff, people in prison, and local communities contribute ideas—build trust, ensure relevance, and improve long-term upkeep. Engaging people in prison in the shaping of their environment affirms their agency and cultivates environmental stewardship. 

This is not only good practice; it reflects international standards such as the Mandela Rules and Bangkok Rules, which stress the importance of rehabilitation, gender-sensitive environments, and meaningful activity. 

A rights-based imperative 

At its core, integrating green design in prisons is not an “add-on”. It is a rights-based imperative. Denying people access to outdoor environments undermines health, dignity, and the possibility of rehabilitation. 

Well-designed prison landscapes embody the principle that punishment should be the deprivation of liberty itself—not the denial of humanity. They recognise that prisons are not just places of confinement but also workplaces for staff, environments for visitors, and sites within communities. 

By embedding green space into prison strategy, governments can meet international obligations, improve safety and wellbeing, and foster the conditions for genuine rehabilitation. 

In conclusion: From concrete to connection 

As global prison populations continue to rise, the challenge is not only how to manage numbers but how to create environments that are safe, humane, and future-proof. Landscapes—trees, gardens, biodiversity, and outdoor spaces—are not marginal to that mission. They are central. Landscape design is not a soft measure, it is infrastructure. As such, it should be planned, budgeted, and maintained with the same seriousness as physical buildings or security systems. 

If we are serious about penal reform, we need to move beyond seeing green space as a security threat, and instead recognise it as an asset for safety, wellbeing, and reintegration. 

The principles are clear, the evidence is growing, and the benefits are wide-reaching. The time has come to design prisons not only for containment, but for care, connection, and hope.