Description
Book SynopsisThis 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.
Trade Review“An exceptional book for professionals and students alike. Planning, community health, and design issues are nested in well structured sections. The author does an incredibly good job documenting the sources of both historical and contemporary aspects of such a wide ranging subject matter.” —Robert Voigt, in Civic Blogger
“Written in an easy-to-understand style, The Built Environment and Public Health by Russell P. Lopez contains a wealth of information. The data supplied substantiate the author’s concern that public health is definitely affected by the environment that we have built for ourselves… a must-read for all who work in public health.” —Dorothea M. Volzer, MFA, in Florida Journal of Environmental Health
Table of ContentsPreface 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
