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At least 721 records · Page 40Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

Urban form, health, and the law's limits.

Urban form, the law, and health are undoubtedly linked. However, nonlegal factors such as 20th-century reliance on the automobile as well as associated governmental actions and private investment choices have greatly influenced urban form, especially urban sprawl. The American system of federalism, with its traditional allocation of land-use legal authority to local governments, and resulting fragmented legal authority over causes and effects of urban sprawl, renders difficult legal efforts to reshape urban form. Legal frameworks and the dynamics and effects of urban sprawl are largely mismatched. Still, existing legal frameworks and modest legal reforms provide means to encourage or at least allow urban forms that are more conducive to health. However, the law will not easily transform urban form and deter urban sprawl.

Automobiles↗
PubMed2003

Local ordinances that promote physical activity: a survey of municipal policies.

In this Utah-based study, we sought to identify the types of municipal employees responsible for physical activity policies, identify municipal ordinances that may influence physical activity, and determine local governments' intentions to implement policies. In 2001, we mailed a survey to all of the state's municipalities with the goal of measuring 6 physical activity domains: sidewalks, bicycle lanes, shared-use paths, work sites, greenways, and recreational facilities. Data from 74 municipalities revealed that planners made up a small proportion of municipal staff. Relative to cities experiencing slow or medium growth, high growth cities reported more ordinances encouraging physical activity. Physical activity policies can be monitored across municipalities. Moreover, evidence-based public health practice provides direction for limited staff and funding resources.

Bicycling↗
PubMed2003

Community gardens: lessons learned from California Healthy Cities and Communities.

Community gardens enhance nutrition and physical activity and promote the role of public health in improving quality of life. Opportunities to organize around other issues and build social capital also emerge through community gardens. California Healthy Cities and Communities (CHCC) promotes an inclusionary and systems approach to improving community health. CHCC has funded community-based nutrition and physical activity programs in several cities. Successful community gardens were developed by many cities incorporating local leadership and resources, volunteers and community partners, and skills-building opportunities for participants. Through community garden initiatives, cities have enacted policies for interim land and complimentary water use, improved access to produce, elevated public consciousness about public health, created culturally appropriate educational and training materials, and strengthened community building skills.

California↗
PubMed2003

Zoning out crime and improving community health in Sarasota, Florida: "Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design".

Sarasota, Fla, used Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles to guide revitalization efforts in its crime-ridden North Trail area. A team of city planners, police officers, and architects examined land use and crime data and sought input from local businesses, residents, and community leaders. Beginning in 1990, interventions included increased police patrols to reduce prostitution and the creation of a new zoning district to encourage area redevelopment based on CPTED principles. Compared with the rest of Sarasota, from 1990 to 1998 the North Trail Corridor experienced decreases in calls for police service (P <.005), crimes against persons and property (P = not significant), and prostitution (P <.05). These results suggest that community design may be a useful tool for decreasing crime and improving community health.

City Planning↗
PubMed2003

Creating healthy communities, healthy homes, healthy people: initiating a research agenda on the built environment and public health.

Mounting evidence suggests physical and mental health problems relate to the built environment, including human-modified places such as homes, schools, workplaces, parks, industrial areas, farms, roads and highways. The public health relevance of the built environment requires examination. Preliminary research demonstrates the health benefits of sustainable communities. However, the impact of mediating and moderating factors within the built environment on health must be explored further. Given the complexity of the built environment, understanding its influence on human health requires a community-based, multilevel, interdisciplinary research approach. The authors offer recommendations, based upon a recent conference sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), for research and policy approaches, and suggest interagency research alliances for greater public health impact.

City Planning↗
PubMed2003

Healthy places: exploring the evidence.

"Sense of place" is a widely discussed concept in fields as diverse as geography, environmental psychology, and art, but it has little traction in the field of public health. The health impact of place includes physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and aesthetic outcomes. In this article, the author introduces sense of place as a public health construct. While many recommendations for "good places" are available, few are based on empirical evidence, and thus they are incompatible with current public health practice. Evidence-based recommendations for healthy place making could have important public health implications. Four aspects of the built environment, at different spatial scales-nature contact, buildings, public spaces, and urban form-are identified as offering promising opportunities for public health research, and potential research agendas for each are discussed.

City Planning↗
PubMed2003

A review of evidence-based traffic engineering measures designed to reduce pedestrian-motor vehicle crashes.

We provide a brief critical review and assessment of engineering modifications to the built environment that can reduce the risk of pedestrian injuries. In our review, we used the Transportation Research Information Services database to conduct a search for studies on engineering countermeasures documented in the scientific literature. We classified countermeasures into 3 categories-speed control, separation of pedestrians from vehicles, and measures that increase the visibility and conspicuity of pedestrians. We determined the measures and settings with the greatest potential for crash prevention. Our review, which emphasized inclusion of studies with adequate methodological designs, showed that modification of the built environment can substantially reduce the risk of pedestrian-vehicle crashes.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2003

Health, supportive environments, and the Reasonable Person Model.

The Reasonable Person Model is a conceptual framework that links environmental factors with human behavior. People are more reasonable, cooperative, helpful, and satisfied when the environment supports their basic informational needs. The same environmental supports are important factors in enhancing human health. We use this framework to identify the informational requirements common to various health-promoting factors that are realizable through well-designed physical environments. Environmental attractors, support of way-finding, and facilitation of social interaction all contribute to the health-relevant themes of community, crime, and mode of transportation. In addition, the nearby natural environment, although often neglected, can serve as a remarkably effective resource.

City Planning↗
PubMed2003

Promoting safe walking and cycling to improve public health: lessons from The Netherlands and Germany.

OBJECTIVES: We examined the public health consequences of unsafe and inconvenient walking and bicycling conditions in American cities to suggest improvements based on successful policies in The Netherlands and Germany. METHODS: Secondary data from national travel and crash surveys were used to compute fatality trends from 1975 to 2001 and fatality and injury rates for pedestrians and cyclists in The Netherlands, Germany, and the United States in 2000. RESULTS: American pedestrians and cyclists were much more likely to be killed or injured than were Dutch and German pedestrians and cyclists, both on a per-trip and on a per-kilometer basis. CONCLUSIONS: A wide range of measures are available to improve the safety of walking and cycling in American cities, both to reduce fatalities and injuries and to encourage walking and cycling.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2003

Conventional development versus managed growth: the costs of sprawl.

OBJECTIVES: We examined the effects of sprawl, or conventional development, versus managed (or "smart") growth on land and infrastructure consumption as well as on real estate development and public service costs in the United States. METHODS: Mathematical impact models were used to produce US estimates of differences in resources consumed according to each growth scenario over the period 2000-2025. RESULTS: Sprawl produces a 21% increase in amount of undeveloped land converted to developed land (2.4 million acres) and approximately a 10% increase in local road lane-miles (188 300). Furthermore, sprawl causes about 10% more annual public service (fiscal) deficits ($4.2 billion US dollars) and 8% higher housing occupancy costs ($13 000 US dollars per dwelling unit). CONCLUSIONS: Managed growth can save significant amounts of human and natural resources with limited effects on traditional development procedures.

City Planning↗
PubMed2003

Urban sprawl as a risk factor in motor vehicle occupant and pedestrian fatalities.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the association between urban sprawl and traffic fatalities. METHODS: We created a sprawl index by applying principal components analysis to data for 448 US counties in the largest 101 metropolitan areas. Regression analysis was used to determine associations between the index and traffic fatalities. RESULTS: For every 1% increase in the index (i.e., more compact, less sprawl), all-mode traffic fatality rates fell by 1.49% (P <.001) and pedestrian fatality rates fell by 1.47% to 3.56%, after adjustment for pedestrian exposure (P <.001). CONCLUSIONS: Urban sprawl was directly related to traffic fatalities and pedestrian fatalities. Subsequent studies should investigate relationships at a finer geographic scale and should strive to improve on the measure of exposure used to adjust pedestrian fatality rates.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2003

Social capital and the built environment: the importance of walkable neighborhoods.

OBJECTIVES: I sought to examine whether pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use neighborhoods encourage enhanced levels of social and community engagement (i.e., social capital). METHODS: The study investigated the relationship between neighborhood design and individual levels of social capital. Data were obtained from a household survey that measured the social capital of citizens living in neighborhoods that ranged from traditional, mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented designs to modern, car-dependent suburban subdivisions in Galway, Ireland. RESULTS: The analyses indicate that persons living in walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods have higher levels of social capital compared with those living in car-oriented suburbs. Respondents living in walkable neighborhoods were more likely to know their neighbors, participate politically, trust others, and be socially engaged. CONCLUSIONS: Walkable, mixed-use neighborhood designs can encourage the development of social capital.

Automobile Driving↗
PubMed2003

Neighborhood-based differences in physical activity: an environment scale evaluation.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated a neighborhood environment survey and compared the physical activity and weight status of the residents in 2 neighborhoods. METHODS: On 2 occasions, 107 adults from neighborhoods with differing "walkability" were selected to complete a survey on their neighborhood environment. Physical activity was assessed by self-report and by accelerometer; height and weight were assessed by self-report. RESULTS: Neighborhood environment characteristics had moderate to high test-retest reliabilities. Residents of high-walkability neighborhoods reported higher residential density, land use mix, street connectivity, aesthetics, and safety. They had more than 70 more minutes of physical activity and had lower obesity prevalence (adjusted for individual demographics) than did residents of low-walkability neighborhoods. CONCLUSIONS: The reliability and validity of self-reported neighborhood environment subscales were supported. Neighborhood environment was associated with physical activity and overweight prevalence.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Housing and health in Europe: preliminary results of a pan-European study.

OBJECTIVES: The World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe has undertaken a large study to evaluate housing and health in 7 European cities. METHODS: Survey tools were used to obtain information about housing and living conditions, health perception, and health status from a representative sample of the population in each city. RESULTS: In Forli, Italy, the first city studied, preliminary findings indicate some important potential links between housing and health. CONCLUSIONS: These findings, when combined with those from the remaining European cities, will likely generate concrete recommendations for the allocation of resources to programs that can improve housing and health.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Mortality risk associated with leaving home: recognizing the relevance of the built environment.

OBJECTIVES: I analyzed traffic fatalities and homicides related to leaving home for routine activities, and considered connections between these fatalities and the built environment. METHODS: I analyzed city, county, state, and federal data for traffic fatalities and homicides by strangers for 15 metropolitan areas, and classified deaths as occurring in the central city, in inner suburbs, or in outer suburbs (exurbs). RESULTS: Traffic fatality rates were highest in exurban areas. Combined traffic fatality and homicide-by-stranger rates were higher in some or all outer counties than in central cities or inner suburbs in all of the metropolitan areas studied. CONCLUSIONS: Traffic fatalities are largely unrecognized as a danger to be factored into residential location decisions. Land use controls that deter sprawl along narrow exurban roads can reduce the mortality risks associated with leaving home.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2003

Relative influences of individual, social environmental, and physical environmental correlates of walking.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to examine individual, social environmental, and physical environmental correlates of walking. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among healthy workers and homemakers residing in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia. RESULTS: Most respondents walked for transport or recreation, but only 17.2% did a sufficient amount of walking to accrue health benefits. After adjustment, the relative influences of individual, social environmental, and physical environmental factors were found to be almost equally important. CONCLUSIONS: Although walking is popular, few people do enough walking to benefit their health. Those who walk as well as engage in other physical activities appear more likely to achieve recommended levels of activity. Promoting walking may require a comprehensive strategy.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Ranking of cities according to public health criteria: pitfalls and opportunities.

Popular magazines often rank cities in terms of various aspects of quality of life. Such ranking studies can motivate people to visit or relocate to a particular city or increase the frequency with which they engage in healthy behaviors. With careful consideration of study design and data limitations, these efforts also can assist policymakers in identifying local public health issues. We discuss considerations in interpreting ranking studies that use environmental measures of a city population's public health related to physical activity, nutrition, and obesity. Ranking studies such as those commonly publicized are constrained by statistical methodology issues and a lack of a scientific basis in regard to design.

Cities↗