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IN THE SPOTLIGHT AT HEALTHY PLACES


Designing and Building Healthy Places

As the leading public health agency in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientifically considers all factors that affect the health of the nation. As we embark into the 21st century, the interaction between people and their environments, natural as well as human-made, continues to emerge as a major issue concerning public health.

Health and Healthy Places

According to the World Health Organization, health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of infirmity. A healthy community as described by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2010 report is one that continuously creates and improves both its physical and social environments, helping people to support one another in aspects of daily life and to develop to their fullest potential. Healthy places are those designed and built to improve the quality of life for all people who live, work, worship, learn, and play within their borders -- where every person is free to make choices amid a variety of healthy, available, accessible, and affordable options.

Health Issues as Related to Community Design

CDC recognizes several significant health issues that are related to land use, including--

References
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010. 2nd ed. With Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. Vol. 1, Part 7. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office 2000 Nov. Available from URL: http://www.healthypeople.gov/Document/HTML/volume1/07ED.htm

Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19-22 June, 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948.

The Definition has not been amended since 1948. Available from URL:  http://www.who.int/about/definition/en/


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