Main description:

This text combines an examination of how the physical environment affects our health with a description of how public health and urban planning can work together to create environments that improve human health and well-being. The author covers a wealth of topics including foundations, the joint history of public health and urban planning, transportation and land use, infrastructure and natural disasters, assessment tools, indoor air quality, water quality, food security, health disparities, mental health, social capital, and environmental justice. The Built Environment and Public Health is written for students and professionals involved in public health, urban planning, transportation, architecture, and the environment.

Contents:

Preface xi The Author xv Part One Background and History 1 Introduction to the Built Environment and Health 3 Dimensions of the Environment 4 Is the Built Environment Really an Environmental Factor? 6 How to Evaluate the Built Environment? 7 Public Perceptions and Assumptions Regarding the Built Environment 8 Cross-Disciplinary Nature of the Study of the Built Environment 9 Placing the Analysis of the Built Environment into a Broader Context 11 Influences on the Built Environment 13 2 History 17 The Pre-Industrial Era 18 The Era of Industrialization and Urbanization: 1825 1930 19 Reform Movements, New Technologies, and Changes in Urban Planning and Architecture: 1825 1930 25 Later Reforms and New Initiatives 1930 1980 32 The Current Era: 1980 2010 and Beyond 38 Part Two Community Design 3 Planning and Urban Design 43 Demographic, Economic, and Social Trends 44 Land Use and Planning Controls 48 Metropolitan Structure and Health 54 4 Transportation Policies 67 Current Patterns of Transportation in the United States 68 Automobiles and Health 73 Highways and Health 77 Mass Transit and Health 78 Bike Safety and Infrastructure 81 Walking and Health 82 5 Healthy Housing and Housing Assistance Programs 91 The Housing Problem 92 The Regulatory Framework 93 6 Infrastructure and Natural Disasters 115 Natural Disasters: An Introduction 116 Natural Disaster Response 125 Part Three Environmental Media 7 Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality 137 Overview 137 Land Use, the Built Environment, and Air Quality 139 Air Pollutants 141 Air Pollution Associated Health Conditions 149 8 Water 155 Impact of Water on Health 155 Infrastructure 157 Drinking Water 159 9 Food, Nutrition, and Food Security 171 Foodborne Illnesses 172 Food Insecurity 174 Environmental Effects of Farming and Food Production 182 Part Four Population Health 10 Vulnerable Populations 193 The Built Environment and Vulnerability 195 The Definition of Race 195 Poverty 200 Children and Environmental Health 203 The Elderly and the Built Environment 205 Persons with Disabilities 207 11 Mental Health, Stressors, and Health Care Environments 209 The Beginnings 210 Biophilia 212 The Role of Stressors and Allostatic Load 219 12 Social Capital 227 Theory and Historical Beginnings 228 Measuring Social Capital 231 Improving Social Capital 236 13 Environmental Justice 247 The Environmental Justice Movement 248 A History of the Environmental Justice Movement 249 Disproportionate Burden 256 Additional Limitations of Environmental Justice Actions 262 Lessons 265 Part Five Tools and Applications 14 Assessment Tools and Data Sources 269 Tools to Inform Decision Making 270 Information Tools 275 15 Health Policy and Programs 287 Public Health Interventions 289 Community Interventions 292 School-Based Interventions 293 Individual Level Interventions 296 Legal Basis for Built Environment Regulation 297 Inserting Health into City General Plans 298 16 Sustainability 301 Defining Sustainability 302 Sustainability and Equity 303 Measures of Sustainability 304 The Local Sustainability Movement 307 The Role of Environmental Design in Sustainability 308 Global Climate Change and Greenhouse Gases 316 Glossary 321 References 329 Index 401