Blog #11: Transportation
Transportation issues are HUGELY impact public health.
The CDC has a complete list of how the built environment influences Health.
Safety: helmet and seatbelt laws
Pollution: smog, green lodes of transportation
Physical Activity: Can people get around on bicycles? Walking? Safe pathways?
Community Building: Public Transport and shared multi-use paths connecting neighborhoods
Developing healthy place to live requires inter disciplinary planning. Architects, city planners, politicians, businesses, transportation and vehicle companies, clinicians, public health professionals and the member of the community.
Listening to Jan Gehl's TedTalk on creating healthier cities- the historical perspective makes so much sense. We raced forward from cities built on "5k speeds" to "120k speeds". When we began to build our communities around the motor vehicle, we never realized how much we would lose in community, social networks, physical space, safety and pollution. Many cities around the world are now trying to undo what urban planning had done since the 1960's.
Health care providers need to understand how their patients are active members of their own built environments. We should also be more active in city/county planning roles. We really should be demanding to participate in more planning and lend our insights using epidemiological data to support how to create truly healthier communities.
Healthy communities start with planning. It requires this collective vision work to be successful and sustainable.
The CDC has a complete list of how the built environment influences Health.
Safety: helmet and seatbelt laws
Pollution: smog, green lodes of transportation
Physical Activity: Can people get around on bicycles? Walking? Safe pathways?
Community Building: Public Transport and shared multi-use paths connecting neighborhoods
Developing healthy place to live requires inter disciplinary planning. Architects, city planners, politicians, businesses, transportation and vehicle companies, clinicians, public health professionals and the member of the community.
Listening to Jan Gehl's TedTalk on creating healthier cities- the historical perspective makes so much sense. We raced forward from cities built on "5k speeds" to "120k speeds". When we began to build our communities around the motor vehicle, we never realized how much we would lose in community, social networks, physical space, safety and pollution. Many cities around the world are now trying to undo what urban planning had done since the 1960's.
Health care providers need to understand how their patients are active members of their own built environments. We should also be more active in city/county planning roles. We really should be demanding to participate in more planning and lend our insights using epidemiological data to support how to create truly healthier communities.
In order to become more industrialized, we certainly have given up a lot. Not only have we polluted our lives with smog and many other carcinogens, but we also have left no parks or trails to enjoy and exercise. It some cities exercise is actually dangerous as people don't have a safe place t walk due to mugging and assaults.Many times I take where I live for granted.
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