Public Health
China's Road Safety Epidemic Attributed To Unskilled Drivers
With one third the number of cars on the road as U.S., China has at least twice the fatality rate. Most vehicles are designed in the West, and driven a similar amount. Road conditions as well as driver and pedestrian error are blamed for crashes.
Jane Jacobs Speaks
Kaid Benfield shares this video from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that includes audio and video of Jane Jacobs, a rarity.
Sprawl On: Suburbs Top the Hierarchy of Healthy Places
A new finding by Univ. of Wisconsin Population Health Institute reveals that when the health variable is isolated, suburban living beats living in the city and in rural areas.
The Challenge of Long-Term Planning
The sometimes decades-long gap between cause and effect makes it difficult to reverse long-standing transportation & planning policies, says Ben Brown.
Louisville, KY Confronts Obesity From All Angles
A grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has Louisville thinking differently. "...it's not just about smart growth, it’s not just about transportation, it's not just about parks or better nutrition, it’s about all of those things and more."
Killer Cities
Urban design is increasingly linked with poor health conditions. Grist's Sarah Goodyear explains how cities are literally killing people.
New Yorkers Get Daily Exercise Just By Getting Around
New Yorkers get most of their physical activity from walking to the subway or running errands, not jogging or going to the gym, says a new report from the New York Dept. of Health.
A City of Healthy and Unhealthy Neighborhoods
The dividing lines in the cities of today are not so much about neighborhoods, but rather the relative health of those neighborhoods, according to this piece from The Globe and Mail.
Supermarkets Designed to Make You Fat
Access to healthy food is a major issue in public health. But just because there's a grocery store nearby doesn't mean health will improve. One entrepreneur looking at supermarket design says the way stores are laid out negatively affects health.
The Effect of Light on an Environment
Natural and artificial light have a significant effect on the experience of hospital patients and can actually reduce stress and hospital time, says Rosalyn Cama, an interior designer and researcher specializes in health care design.
Building A Healthier Environment
The built environment plays a big role in public health, and the professions involved in creating the built environment need to pay more attention to building healthy places, argues Clark Manus, president of the American Institute of Architects.
L.A. Plans to Fix its Streets
Los Angeles County is in the process of writing a "Model Streets Manual", with funding coming from an unlikely source: The Department of Public Health.
Designing Out Obesity
An emerging design movement is trying to counteract obesity in American cities.
Widening Waistlines Weigh on Developing Cities
Cities across the developing world are dealing more with rising obesity rates as urbanization occurs, reports TheCityFix's Jonna McKone.
Tree Cover Linked with Healthier Babies
A study of tree cover and pregnant women suggests that women living in areas with more trees are less likely to give birth to undersized babies.
Looking at Urban Design Through a Public Health Lens
New York City's Health Commissioner has urban design in his sights as he seeks to improve public health in the city.
Planner Malpractice?
Amanda Thompson, planning director of Decatur, GA, suggests that it is a good thing there isn't such a thing as "designer malpractice" or planners would be sued for the horrible impact their work has had on the public health.
Frederick Law Olmsted's Other Career
A new essay by Thomas Fisher details Frederick Law Olmsted's lesser known work in the realm of public health and sanitation.
Architects and Designers Explore Urban Pandemics
Viral pandemics can devastate cities. In this review of pandemics of the past and present, this piece from Places suggests that urban design can play a much more important role in public health and pandemic prevention.
Urban Living Linked To Heightened Risk of Schizophrenia
For some time researchers have noticed more instances of non-affective psychosis in urban populations than in rural groups. Now the American Medical Association has found "certain elements of city living raise the risk of developing schizophrenia."
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
