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Can New Urbanism Encourage Physical Activity?: Comparing a New Urbanist Neighborhood With Conventional Suburbs
Journal of the American Planning Association, 72(1): 43-54, 2006by: Daniel Rodriguez, Asad Khattak, Kelly EvensonThis article compares the physical activity of residents in new urbanist neighborhoods with conventional suburban neighborhoods, questioning new urbanism’s claim to improve health. -
Children With Attention Deficits Concentrate Better After Walk in the Park
Journal of Attention Disorders, 12(5): 402-409, 2009by: Andrea Faber Taylor, Frances KuoThis article concludes that a 20-minute walk in a park improved attention performance in children with ADHD substantially better than a walk through a downtown or neighborhood setting. -
Built Environment and Elderly Population Health: A Comprehensive Literature Review
Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health, 10: 103-115, 2014by: Noe Garin, Beatriz Olava, Marta MiretThis article reviews literature on the built environment and elderly health. -
Complexity in Built Environment, Health, and Destination Walking: A Neighborhood-Scale Analysis
Journal of Urban Health, 89(2): 270-284, 2012by: Cynthia Carlson, Semra Aytur, Kevin GardnerThis article complicates the relationship between the built environment and health by introducing destination walking as one of perhaps several feedback loops in a complex conceptual model. -
Coping With Chemicals: Blacks, Whites, Planners, and Industrial Pollution
Journal of the American Planning Association, 63(4): 469-480, 1997by: Raymond Burby, Denise StrongThis article discusses inequitable exposure to and perception of pollution and its impact on health and quality of life. -
Density, Health, and Social Disorganization
Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 32(1): 38-40, 1966by: Robert SchmittThis article distinguishes between density and overpopulation, testing whether either of these trends leads to social disorganization in Honolulu. -
Density, Health, and Social Disorganization Revisited
Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 44(2): 209-211, 1978by: Robert Schmitt, Lynn Zane, Sharon NishiThis article argues that the relationship established in “Density, Health, and Social Disorganization” has weakened since original publication. -
Cities and Mental Health
Deutsches Arzteblatt International, 114: 121-127, 2017by: Oliver Gruebner, Michael Rapp, Mazda AdliThis article reviews literature on the relationship between urban environments and mental illness. -
Healthy Cities of Tomorrow: The Case for Large Scale Built Environment–Health Studies
Journal of Urban Health, 94: 4-19, 2017by: Chinmoy Sarkar, Chris WebsterThis article argues that large-scale, interdisciplinary research is required to understand the complex relationship between the built environment and health. -
Exploring Consensus Across Sectors for Measuring the Social Determinants of Health
SSM - Population Health, 7: 2019by: Renee Elias, Douglas Jutte, Alison MooreThis article explores how social determinants of health (SDOH) are measured across sectors. -
Future Directions in Housing and Public Health: Findings From Europe With Broader Implications for Planners
Journal of the American Planning Association, 74(1): 77-89, 2008by: Rebecca Miles, David JacobsThis article discusses the connection between housing conditions and chronic diseases like asthma. -
Health Impact Assessment (HIA) for Planners: What Tools Are Useful?
Journal of Planning Literature 24(3): 2010by: Ann Forsyth, Carissa Slotterback, FAICP, Kevin KrizekThis article advocates for the use of HIAs in planning, as long as they are adapted to fit the context and are not seen as a burdensome requirement. -
How Far Americans Live from the Closest Hospital Differs by Community Type
Fact Tank, 2018by: Onyi Lam, Brian Broderick, Skye ToorThis article shares the differences in perceived access to good doctors and hospitals and in travel time to the closest hospital in urban, suburban, and rural areas. -
Interactive and Independent Associations Between the Socioeconomic and Objective Built Environment on the Neighbourhood Level and Individual Health: A Systematic Review of Multilevel Studies
PLoS ONE, 10(4): 2015by: Steffen Schule, Gabriele BolteThis article reviews literature on the built environment and health that simultaneously consider neighborhood socioeconomic position and objective factors of the built environment. -
Improving the Lives of People With Dementia Through Urban Design
Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health, 1: 2016by: Barbara PaniThis article describes how changing demographics are increasing dementia rates and considers how urban design can help improve the lives of people with dementia. -
Longer View: From Congestion to Sprawl: Planning and Health in Historical Context
Journal of the American Planning Association, 72(1): 10-18, 2006by: David SloaneThis article tracks the history of the relationship between urban planning and public health. -
How Much Are Built Environments Changing, and Where? Patterns of Change by Neighborhood Sociodemographic Characteristics Across Seven U.S. Metropolitan Areas
Social Science & Medicine, 169: 97-105, 2016by: Jana Hirsch, Joe Grengs, AICP, Amy SchulzThis article tracks changes in the built environment at the neighborhood scale and compares this to changes in sociodemographic characteristics. -
Interdisciplinary Planning for Healthier Communities: Findings from the Harlem Children's Zone Asthma Initiative
Journal of the American Planning Association, 72(1): 100-108, 2006by: Seth Spielman, Cynthia Golembeski, Mary NorthridgeThis article links housing conditions and childhood asthma in Harlem. -
Many Pathways from Land Use to Health: Associations Between Neighborhood Walkability and Active Transportation, Body Mass Index, and Air Quality
Journal of the American Planning Association, 72(1): 75-87, 2006by: Lawrence Frank, James Sallis, Terry ConwayThis article used a single index of walkability compared to health-related outcomes to establish a connection between development patterns and factors that affect chronic disease in King County, Washington. -
Neighborhood Air Quality, Respiratory Health, and Vulnerable Populations in Compact and Sprawled Regions
Journal of the American Planning Association, 76(3): 363-371, 2010by: Lisa Schweitzer, Jiangping ZhouThis article asks whether air quality outcomes are better in compact regions than in sprawled regions. -
Neighborhood Built Environment Change and Change in BMI and Waist Circumference: Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Obesity (Silver Spring), 22(11): 2450-2457, 2014by: Jana Hirsch, Kari Moore, Tonatiuh Barrientos-GutierrezThis article discusses whether changes to the built environment of a neighborhood influence body mass index and waist circumference. -
Making the Connection Between Zoning and Health Disparities
Environmental Justice, 5(3): 119-127, 2012by: Lauren Rossen, Keshia PollackThis article discusses how zoning can be used to improve health outcomes and health equity. -
Neighbourhood Amenities and Depressive Symptoms in Urban-Dwelling Older Adults
Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health, 2: 2017by: Shahirah Gillespie, Michael LeVasseur, Yvonne MichaelThis article considers whether the concentration of neighborhood amenities impacts the mental health of older adults who are high or low mobility. -
More Active Living–Oriented County and Municipal Zoning Is Associated With Increased Adult Leisure Time Physical Activity
Environment and Behavior, 48(1): 111-130, 2015by: Jamie Chriqui, Lisa Nicholson, Emily ThrunThis article asks whether active living-oriented zoning codes impact adult leisure time physical activity. -
Neighborhood Blight, Stress, and Health: A Walking Trial of Urban Greening and Ambulatory Heart Rate
American Journal of Public Health, 105(5): 909-913, 2015by: Eugenia South, Michelle Kondo, Rose CheneyThis article shows how greening remediation of vacant lots decreases the heart rate of walkers in Philadelphia, suggesting that remediating neighborhood blight could reduce stress. -
Neighborhood Greenspace and Health in a Large Urban Center
Scientific Reports, 5(11610): 2015by: Omid Kardan, Peter Gozdyra, Bratislay MisicThis article examines the relationship between greenspace and health in Toronto. -
Planning and Building Healthy Communities for Mental Health: Method, Findings and Reflections from a Recent Integrative Study
Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health, 3: 2017by: Greg Paine, Susan ThompsonThis article looks at the extent to which four new residential neighborhoods around Sydney, Australia support health and wellbeing. -
Residential Road Traffic Noise and High Depressive Symptoms After Five Years of Follow-up: Results from the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study
Environmental Health Perspectives, 124(5):578-585, 2016by: Ester Orban, Kelsey McDonald, Robynne SutcliffeThis article makes the connection between residential road traffic noise, stress and annoyance, and depressive symptoms. -
Planning for Wellbeing
Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health, 1: 2016by: Rhiannon Corcoran, Graham MarshallThis article introduces the concept of well-design, which includes five principles. -
Sorting Out the Connections Between the Built Environment and Health: A Conceptual Framework for Navigating Pathways and Planning Healthy Cities
Journal of Urban Health, 80(4): 556-568, 2003by: Mary Northridge, Elliott Sclar, Padmini BiswasThis article lays out the connections between the built environment and health and introduces the Social Determinants of Health and Environmental Health Promotion. -
The Built Environment and Its Relationship to the Public’s Health: The Legal Framework
American Journal of Public Health, 93(9): 1390-1394, 2003by: Wendy Collins Perdue, Lesley Stone, Lawrence GostinThis article shares the legal pathways that planners and public health officials can use to improve health outcomes through built environment interventions. -
Testing Three Health Impact Assessment Tools in Planning: A Process Evaluation
Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 31(2): 144-153, 2011by: Carissa Slotterback, FAICP, Ann Forsyth, Kevin KrizekThis article tracks how planners have used Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) in 11 Minnesota communities. -
Spatial Designs to Enhance Early Development and Wellbeing in Urban Environments
Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health, 2: 2017by: Latoia Williams, Quncie WilliamsThis article calls for collaboration between child development experts and architects to improve the design of urban space. -
The Built Environment and Sexual and Reproductive Health
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 41(5): 458-459, 2017by: Tinashe Dune, Thomas Astell-Burt, Rubab FirdausThis article points out that sexual and reproductive health has been largely ignored in the literature on the built environment and health. -
The Contextual Effect of the Local Food Environment on Residents’ Diets: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study
American Journal of Public Health, 92(11): 1761-1768, 2002by: Kimberly Morland, Steve Wing, Ana Diez RouxThis article concludes that the local food environment is associated with meeting dietary recommendations. -
The Built Environment, Climate Change, and Health: Opportunities for Co-Benefits
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 35(5): 517-526, 2008by: Margalit Younger, Heather Morrow-Ameida, Stephen VindigniThis article describes how changes in the built environment can co-benefit the environment and public health. -
The Built Environment Predicts Observed Physical Activity
Frontiers in Public Health, 2(52): 2014by: Cheryl Kelly, Jeffrey Wilson, Mario SchootmanThis article shows that streets with mixed or non-residential land use, pedestrian infrastructure, and public transit are all associated with more physical activity. -
The Role of Built Environments in Physical Activity, Obesity, and CVD
Circulation, 125(5): 729-737, 2013by: James Sallis, Myron Floyd, Daniel RodriguezThis article introduces the ecological model of physical activity and considers how active recreation and transportation can improve health outcomes. -
The Effects of Changes to the Built Environment on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Adults: Systematic Review
Health & Place, 53: 237-257, 2018by: T Moore, J Kesten, J Lopez-LopezThis article reviews intervention studies on the built environment and mental health and concludes that the current evidence is weak and relies on poor study design and limited data. -
The Food System: A Stranger to the Planning Field
Journal of the American Planning Association, 66(2): 113-124, 2000by: Kameshwari Pothukuchi, Jerome Kaufman, FAICPThis article, a classic text in the food systems planning literature, points out that planners have largely ignored food systems in their research and practice. -
Traveling Towards Disease: Transportation Barriers to Health Care Access
Journal of Community Health, 38(5): 976-993, 2013by: Samina Syed, Ben Gerber, Lisa SharpThis article reviews the literature on transportation barriers to healthcare access. -
Urban Form and Mental Wellbeing: Scoping a Theoretical Framework for Action
Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health, 5: 2018by: Amir Hajrasouliha, Vicente del Rio, James FrancisThis article reviews literature on urban form and mental wellbeing in order to assess the use-value of two planning models. -
Active Transportation: Benefitting Health, Safety and Equity
Get the Facts, 2010This fact sheet belongs to the Active Transportation and Built Environment and Health collections. -
Undoing Solitary Urban Design: A Review of Risk Factors and Mental Health Outcomes Associated With Living in Social Isolation
Journal of Urban Design and Mental Health, 4: 2018by: Kevin Bennett, Tyler Gualtieri, Becky KazmierczykThis article describes the epidemic of social isolation in cities, comparing it to isolation in prison confinement settings. -
CDC Recommendations for Improving Health Through Transportation Policy
April 2010This fact sheet discusses issues with the current transportation system, which focuses solely on efficiencies, and lists transportation policy recommendations that promote health. -
Use of Health Impact Assessment in the U.S.: 27 Case Studies, 1999–2007
American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 34(3): 241-256, 2008by: Andrew Dannenberg, Rajiv Bhatia, Brian ColeThis article reviews 27 Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) to assess their impact on planning and decision-making. -
Urban Planning and Health Services: Opportunities for Cooperation
Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 36(2): 82-95, 1970by: Bernard Frieden, James PetersThis article pushes health planners to incorporate urban planning data and methods into their practice. -
You Are Where You Shop: Grocery Store Locations, Weight, and Neighborhoods
American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 31(1): 10-17, 2006by: Sanae Inagami, Deborah Cohen, Brian FinchThis article explores the relationship between the location of grocery stores and body mass index (BMI). -
Health Impact Assessments: A Tool to Ensure That Health and Equity Are Considered in Transportation Policy and Systems
Get The Facts, 2011This fact sheet explains how health impact assessments (HIAs) can help produce better policy and systems. -
Data on Healthy Community Design
November 2015This fact sheet uses data to explain the benefits of healthy community design and shares how the CDC has created strategic partnerships to implement it nationally.