Improving citizen's health and well-being through urban landscape design
Subject Areas : Water and Environment
Mohammad Bagheri
1
,
Hamid Reza Azemati
2
1 - Faculty of Architecture & Urbanism, Tabriz Islamic Art University
2 - Faculty of Civil Engineering, Shahid Rajaee University
Keywords: Sustainable design, mix land use, pedestrian spaces, nontraditional development, pblic transport, health and safety,
Abstract :
Current urbanization and settlement trends haveadverse psycho-physical impact on the safety,health and well-being of the city dwellers. Crime,lack of community, lack of physical activity anddependence on motorized transportation serve asexamples of urban ills. Sustainable design strategiesin urban neighborhoods and open spaces can havesignificant contribution to human physical healthand psychological well-being. The sustainable urbandesign agenda and design criteria such as green andquality open spaces, pedestrian areas, creating denseneighborhoods with mix land uses and infilldevelopment projects in derelict and lost spaces,decreasing dependence on motorized transportwith public services such as community schoolsand developing local public transport are of themain strategies that can addressed the varioushealth and well-being contributions of differenturban habitats.
1. UN-HABITAT, 1996 .The Habitat Agenda Goals and
Princi ples, 14-Commitments and the Gl bal Plan for
Action. Available at:
<http://www.unhabtat.org/declarations/documents/The_
Habitat_ Agenda.pdf
2. Tzoulas,K,James,p.Finding Links Between Biodiversity and
Human Health and Well-Being, School of Environment life
Science, University of Salford,England,Manchester,MS4W.
Available at: www.els.salford.ac.uk/urbannature/outputs/
papers/ Tzoulas_IPRC04.pdf
3. WHO, 1997. City Planning for health and sustainable devel
opment. European Sustainable Development and Health
Series 2.EUR/ICP/ POLC 06 03 05B.
4. Jackson L E.The relationship of urban design to
human health and cindition.Landscape And U ban
Planning.2003:64191-200. Available at:
<http://www.elsevier.com/locate/landurblan.
5. Sullivan W.C, Kuo F.E Depooter, S.F.The Fruit Of
Urban Nature,Vital Neighborhood Spaes. Environment and
Behavior.2004:36(5):678-700.
6. Badland, H.Schofield, G.Transport, urban design and
physical activity: an evidence-based update. Transport
Research Part D10 (2005)177-196.
7. Promoting Public Health through Smart Growth; 2005.
Available at: www.smartgrowth.bc.ca/downloads/SGBC_
Health%20Report%20 Final.pdf
8. DTLR, 2002. Improving urban parks play areas and open
space. Department of Transport Local Government and
Regions; London.
9. Morris, Nina .” Health, Well-Being and Open Space
Literature Review”, 2003. Available at:
<http: www. Www .openspace.eca.ac.uk/pdf/Health Well
being.pdf
10. Creating a Healthy Environment: The Impact of the Built
Environment on Public Health. Washington, DC: Sprawl
Watch Clearinghouse Monograph Series; 2001. Available
at: http://www.sprawlwatch.org. Accessed January 10,
2002.
11. Saelens B, Sallis JF, and Black JB, Chen D. Neighbor
hood-based differences in physical activity: an environ
ment scale evaluation. American Journal of Public Health
2003; 93(9):15521558.
