Urban Sprawl and Public Health

Designing, Planning, and Building for Healthy Communities

Howard Frumkin, Lawrence Frank, and Richard J. Jackson

368 pages | 6 x 9

In Urban Sprawl and Public Health, Howard Frumkin, Lawrence Frank, and Richard Jackson, three of the nation's leading public health and urban planning experts explore an intriguing question: How does the physical environment in which we live affect our health? For decades, growth and development in our communities has been of the low-density, automobile-dependent type known as sprawl. The authors examine the direct and indirect impacts of sprawl on human health and well-being, and discuss the prospects for improving public health through alternative approaches to design, land use, and transportation.

Urban Sprawl and Public Health offers a comprehensive look at the interface of urban planning, architecture, transportation, community design, and public health. It summarizes the evidence linking adverse health outcomes with sprawling development, and outlines the complex challenges of developing policy that promotes and protects public health. Anyone concerned with issues of public health, urban planning, transportation, architecture, or the environment will want to read Urban Sprawl and Public Health.

Review Quotes
Contents

"Years ago, we could see that the correlation between sprawl and poor health should be made. Now it is done. Urban Sprawl and Public Health details how our lifestyle leads to serious health problems. This book should be reviewed widely and its facts should be known by all of us. It will be one of the central texts of the New Urbanism."

Andres Duany, author of, Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream

"Urban Sprawl and Public Health is written for urban planners, public health practitioners, and the general public.

The authors acknowledge that Smart Growth initatives face barriers, such as market preferences for suburbs, but point out that solutions to these issues will require input from many sectors in society, including health professionals, planners and develpers. Yet Frumkin et al. also argue that there is a need for citizens to take greater responsibility for their personal daily activities and to have a healthy lifestyle.

Overall, the authors provide a well-informed discussion on urban planning and health issues and present feasible public health solutions that may be incorporated into many urban development projects."

Gary Christopher, Canadian Journal of Urban Research

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1. What Is Sprawl? What Does It Have to Do with Health?
Chapter 2. The Origins of Sprawl
Chapter 3. The Evolution of Urban Health
Chapter 4. Air Quality
Chapter 5. Physical Activity, Sprawl, and Health
Chapter 6. Injuries and Deaths from Traffic
Chapter 7. Water Quantity and Quality With Steve Gaffield
Chapter 8. Mental Health
Chapter 9. Social Capital, Sprawl, and Health
Chapter 10. Health Concerns of Special Populations
Chapter 11. From Urban Sprawl to Health for All

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Environmental Health

Green Building

Land Use Planning

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