Public Health

A new report out from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds conflicting trends in Americans' walking habits. What's clear, however, is that an astonishing 38% of adults have not walked more than 10 minutes straight in the last week.

August 15, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Sixty percent of premature deaths are accounted for not by medical care or lack thereof, but by social circumstances, environmental conditions, and behavioral patterns. So perhaps the medical field on its own can't prevent them.

August 2, 2012 - Shelterforce

Likely of little surprise to anyone who's found themselves among the few pedestrians not gazing down at a cell phone on a busy urban street, 'distracted walking' is fast becoming a major public health hazard across the U.S., reports Deborah Netburn.

July 31, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

A June panel, ‘Experiencing Healthier Places’, at the AIA Design Conference in LA looked at the roles that professional planners and architects can have in fostering a healthier society through the built environment.

July 6, 2012 - The Planning Report

Efforts to alleviate urban food deserts has focused on the proximity of healthy food choices as a correlating factor for obesity. However, a new study concludes that price, rather than proximity, has a stronger correlation to rates of obesity.

June 20, 2012 - The Washington Post

Integrated food systems planning is a cornerstone of efforts to create healthy and sustainable communities across America. Kimberley Hodgson summarizes recent research conducted by the APA that evaluates which communities are leading the way.

June 20, 2012 - APA Sustaining Places

With the highest obesity rate and poorest population of America’s big cities, Philadelphia is launching an ambitious plan to increase residents' access to healthy food, reports Sarah Kliff.

June 9, 2012 - The Washington Post

A new report released this week seeks to address whether the "urban health advantage" can be extended to more of the world’s population as cities continue to grow in the coming decades, reports Katherine Harmon.

May 31, 2012 - Scientific American

Ever wonder what effect the pollution you're exposed to in your neighborhood on a daily basis is having on your family's long-term health? The emerging field of geo-medecine is providing answers, reports Christine MacDonald.

May 24, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Sarah Henry spotlights "The Weight of the Nation," a new series airing this week on HBO that explores obesity and its enormous economic, emotional, social, and health costs.

May 16, 2012 - Grist

Rachel Cernansky reports on the federal government's recently announced plan to expand access to healthy foods by increasing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) acceptance at America's farmers markets.

May 10, 2012 - Grist

Nate Berg uncovers yet another study matching long commutes to poor health, from low fitness to high blood pressure.

May 9, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

A new report by Kevin Watkins tries to make visible the horrifying threat to children's health that road traffic presents. It is the leading cause of death globally for young people between the ages of 10 and 24, reports Sarah Goodyear.

May 6, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Gina Kolata reports on the findings of two new studies that question the very concept of food deserts in poor neighborhoods, and the connection between fresh food access and obesity.

April 18, 2012 - The New York Times

A new study conducted by the Seattle Children’s Research Institute looks at how zip code is as important as genetic code in determining childhood obesity.

April 13, 2012 - Seattle Children's Hospital

Tim Pittman makes the case that cities can make us healthier – provided we can get out of our cars – and advocates a shift in the conversation about designing cities for people.

April 13, 2012 - GenslerOnCities

The New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids is leading an effort to make time for physical activity and put healthy food on children's plates, Beth Fitzgerald reports.

March 23, 2012 - NJ Spotlight

Eric Jaffe looks at the findings of a recent article in the medical journal The Lancet, which predicts massive public health challenges in China resulting from the country's urban influx of migrant workers.

March 16, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Eric Jaffe reports on the growing use of "health impact assessments" (HIA), which are used in a similar fashion to environmental reviews, to determine the public health side effects of major projects.

March 9, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Here is a list you presumably do not want to find your city on: the most obese metro areas in the country. Dan Witters breaks down the results that Gallup has recently released as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

March 8, 2012 - Gallup Wellbeing