Healthy built environments: A review of the literature

The Healthy Built Environments Program has completed a major scholarly literature review examining the role of the built environment in supporting human health as part of everyday living. The principal aim of the Review is to establish an evidence base that supports the development, prioritisation and implementation of healthy built environment policies and practices. The Review identifies current gaps in the evidence to inform future research directions. It includes an annotated bibliography of key research articles and a glossary of terms to assist practitioners, policy makers and researchers working in this interdisciplinary realm.  The focus of the Review is on the three key built environment domains that support human health: The Built Environment and Getting People Active. The Built Environment and Connecting and Strengthening Communities. The Built Environment and Providing Healthy Food Options. These built environment domains address three of the major risk factors for contemporary chronic disease - physical inactivity, social isolation and obesity. The Literature Review is available for download as the whole document or its individual sections. Whole document (12MB) Cover and Acknowledgements (1.11MB)List of Abbreviations and Contents (2.11MB)The Healthy Built Environments Program Overview (291KB)Executive Summary (295KB)1.0 Introduction (255KB)2.0 Structure of this Review (2.46MB)3.0 Aims and Parameters (2.99MB)4.0 Scope and Methodology (3.20MB)5.0 The Evidence (200KB)5.1 The Built Environment and Getting People Active (653KB)5.2 The Built Environment and Connecting and Strengthening Communities (546KB)5.3 The Built Environment and Providing Healthy Food Options (416KB)6.0 Professional Development (284KB)7.0 Conclusion (114KB)References (490KB)Appendix 1: Diary of Database Searches (202KB)Appendix 2: Glossary (282KB)Appendix 3: Annotated Bibliography (2.57MB

Exploring cyclists’ and pedestrians’ personal exposure, wellbeing and protective practices on-the-move

In dieser Doktorarbeit wurde untersucht, welche Faktoren Wohlbefinden, wahrgenommene Gesundheit und Mobilitätspraktiken von Radfahrenden und Fußgänger:innen während des Unterwegsseins beeinflussen. Ziel war es, die persönliche Exposition gegenüber Feinstaub und Lärm unterwegs zu messen und diese der individuell wahrgenommenen Belastung gegenüberzustellen. Zudem wurden weitere Faktoren, die das Wohlbefinden beeinflussen, untersucht. Die Arbeit beleuchtet überdies, wie über gesunde und angenehme Mobilität informiert werden könnte. Zuerst wurden mobile qualitative Interviews (Go-/Ride-Alongs) durchgeführt und mit tragbaren Sensoren zur Messung von Feinstaub und Lärm ergänzt. Der situative Kontext, die sensorische Wahrnehmung und soziale Aspekte beeinflussen, ob das Unterwegsseins in der Stadt als gesund und angenehm empfunden wird. Diese Faktoren können in vergleichsweise als hoch belastend gemessenen Situationen ausgleichend wirken. Weiterhin wurden Informationsmöglichkeiten für eine gesunde Mobilität in der Stadt exploriert. Ein Literaturreview hat aufgezeigt, dass Gesundheitsthemen wenig Berücksichtigung in Forschung zu Mobilitäts-Apps finden. Daran anschließend wurden Fokusgruppen durchgeführt. Es wurde ermittelt, wie gesunde und angenehme Routen kommuniziert werden können. Hier könnendas Vorhandensein von Routenalternativen und Bewältigungsstrategien ein Gefühl von Selbstwirksamkeit geben. Es wurde eine „pleasant routing app“ vorgeschlagen, die angenehme und gesunde Routenaspekte integriert. Um die Attraktivität des Fahrradfahrens und zu Fuß Gehens zu steigern, sollten Erfahrungen, Wahrnehmungen und Praktiken von Radfahrenden und Fußgänger:innen berücksichtigt werden. Letztendlich kann somit aktive Mobilität ihr Potenzial entfalten und zu einer lebenswerten, gesunden und umweltfreundlichen Stadt beitragen.This thesis investigates factors influencing cyclists’ and pedestrians’ health and wellbeing on-the-move. Moreover, the possibilities of smartphone apps for supporting a healthy and pleasant trip are investigated. The scope of this thesis is to combine the topic healthy and pleasant mobility with possibilities of mobility apps. First, the thesis explores how cyclists and pedestrians perceive their personal exposure towards air pollution and noise as well as other factors influencing commuting experience and wellbeing on-the-move. This is contrasted to actual measured particulate matter and noise. Qualitative interviews on-the-move (‘go-/ride-alongs’) are complemented by wearable sensors measuring particulate matter and noise. The results show discrepancies as well as coherences between perceived and measured exposure. The situational context, sensory awareness (e.g. water views) and social cues (e.g. seeing other people) are important for a perceived pleasant commute, even in polluted areas. Second, this thesis identifies how far health impacting factors are considered in research using mobility apps to identify their possibilities for supporting a healthy commute. A literature review reveals that research applying mobility apps is lacking the consideration of health topics and it is proposed to integrate health topics in mobility app development. Following these findings, the thesis investigates communication options to inform about a healthy and pleasant commute. Focus groups were applied showing that information should include feasible coping strategies and increase self-efficacy. Pleasant trip characteristics could be included in a healthy mobility app. If active mode users’ experiences, perceptions and practices are considered, cycling and walking can become more attractive and more people are encouraged to cycle or walk. Hence, active modes can unfold their potential for supporting the transformation towards liveable, healthy and environmentally friendly cities

State of Health Equity Movement, 2011 Update Part C: Compendium of Recommendations DRA Project Report No. 11-03

State of Health Equity Movement, 2011 Update Part C: Compendium of Recommendations DRA Project Report No. 11-0

Integrated agent-based microsimulation framework for examining impacts of mobility-oriented policies

open6siTravel demand management measures/policies are important to sustain positive changes among individuals’ travel behaviour. An integrated agent-based microsimulation platform provides a rich framework for examining such interventions to assess their impacts using indicators about demand as well as supply side. This paper presents an approach where individual schedules, derived from a lighter version of an activity-based model, are fed into a Multi-Agent Transport Simulation (MATSIM) framework. Simulations are performed for two European cities i.e. Hasselt (Belgium) and Bologna (Italy). After calibrating the modelling framework against aggregate traffic counts for the base case, the impacts of a few traffic management policies (restricting car access, increase in bus frequency) are examined. The results indicate that restricting car access is more effective in terms of reducing traffic from the network and also shifting car drivers/passengers to other modes of travel. The enhancement of bus infrastructure in relation to increase in frequency caused shifting of bicyclist towards public transport, which is an undesirable result of the policy if the objective is to improve sustainability and environment. In future research, the framework will be enhanced to integrate emission and air dispersion models to ascertain effects on air quality as a result of such interventions.embargoed_20210117Adnan, Muhammad; Outay, Fatma; Ahmed, Shiraz; Brattich, Erika; di Sabatino, Silvana; Janssens, DavyAdnan, Muhammad; Outay, Fatma; Ahmed, Shiraz; Brattich, Erika; di Sabatino, Silvana; Janssens, Dav

Yellowstone County/City of Billings Growth Policy Health Impact Assessment

Analyzes the potential impact of community growth and the built environment on residents' health, emergency preparedness, nutrition, pedestrian safety and traffic, and physical activity as a way to make health part of the decision-making process

Safe Routes to School State Network Project Final Report 2007-2009: Making Change through Partners and Policies

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership launched the State Network Project in 2007 to influence state-level Safe Routes to School implementation and to leverage additional resources and build a supportive environment through other state-level policies. The 2007 -- 2009 Report describes the approach and structure of the Partnership's State Network and Local School Projects in 10 jurisdictions (CA, DC, GA, IL, KY, LA, NY, OK, TX and VA). The networks were selected primarily based on high levels of childhood obesity, diversity and low income communities. The report highlights the progress achieved at state and local levels over three years, including major accomplishments, lessons learned, and next steps