Improving citizen's health and well-being through urban landscape design

Subject Areas : Water and Environment

Mohammad Bagheri ¹ (Faculty of Architecture & Urbanism, Tabriz Islamic Art University)
Hamid Reza Azemati ² (Faculty of Civil Engineering, Shahid Rajaee University)

Received: 2008-04-06 Accepted : 2008-08-16 Published : 2009-03-21

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. 

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