Healthy Environments
Broadly defined, the environment includes all that is external to an
individual -- the air we breathe, the water we drink and use, the land and
built structures that surround us --
all of the natural as well as human-formed conditions that influence the
quality of our lives. Our interactions with the environment are complex
and not always healthy.
A healthy community environment encompasses aspects of human health,
disease, and injury that are determined or influenced by factors in the
overall environment. Examining the interaction between health and the
environment requires studying not only how health is affected by the
direct pathological impacts of various chemical, physical, and biologic
agents, but also by factors in the broad physical and social environments,
which include housing, urban development, land use, transportation,
industry, and agriculture.
Since 1900, life expectancy in the United States has increased by
approximately 40 years. Only seven of those years can be attributed to
improvements in disease care while the rest are the result of improved
prevention efforts (such as immunizations) and improved environmental
conditions, including sanitation and water. The link between the nation’s
health and the environment is unmistakable.
“The environment will be increasingly challenged by toxic exposures, population growth, continued urbanization, and urban design that hinder healthy behaviors, such as physical activity.”
The former director of CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health,
Richard Jackson, MD, MPH in the preface to the monograph Creating a
Healthy Environment (2001), stated:
“We must be alert to the health benefits, including less stress, lower blood pressure, and overall improved physical and mental health, that can result when people live and work in accessible, safe, well-designed, thoughtful structures and landscapes.”
Healthy Places Envisioned
Since World War II, the American landscape has changed. The growth of
suburbia was fueled in the 1950s and 1960s by a growing trend in
automobile ownership and government-subsidized road-building projects.
Soon residential areas were well separated from commerce and industry.
Education and recreation had distinct locations within a community.
Shopping moved from the center of town to suburban shopping centers and
malls. Rarely could residents get from one place to another without first
getting into an automobile. And before long, pedestrian walkways,
tree-lined streets, and older neighborhoods were often demolished to make
way for wider roads and interstate highways.
Today, typical suburban homes sit in cul-de-sac subdivisions that empty
onto high-volume roads. Zoning laws encourage the separation of
residential areas from schools and shopping malls by long and often
dangerous travel distances. Elementary school bicycle racks stand empty as
parents fear for their children's safety on narrow or traffic-laden roads.
Pedestrians take risks as they cross dangerous intersections in
communities where safe crosswalks are all but nonexistent.
But just as there are characteristics of the environment known to create
unsafe conditions or foster disease, certain aspects of the environment
may promote health and well-being. For example, designing walking trails
and safe bicycle paths throughout our communities can promote increased
physical activity. People can educate themselves about these aspects of
the environment that can lead to healthier communities and healthier
people. CDC has created this web site to help people do just that.
References
Andersen G, Borton J, Curran C, Dietrich A, Donlin J, Farquhar D, et al. The
built environment: is there a connection between sprawl and health? State
Health Notes 2002 May 6:3-5.
Jackson RJ. What Olmsted knew. Western City
2001;March. Available from URL:
http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/education/articles-detail-print.asp?Main_ID=565
Koplan J, Fleming D. Current and future public health
challenges. JAMA 2000;284:1696-8. Available from URL:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/284/13/1696.pdf
[PDF 262KB]
Planning Commissioners Journal. The sprawl guide. Planning Commissioners Journal (no date). Available from URL:
http://www.plannersweb.com/sprawl/define.html
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Healthy People 2010. Part 7: Educational and community based programs.
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office 2000 Nov. Available from
URL:
http://www.healthypeople.gov/Document/HTML/volume1/07ED.htm
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