Urban design, the arrangement of buildings and open spaces, has a number of potential connections to health, though few of these are well established.
Fact Sheets and Posters
- Housing Density Fact Sheets
- Housing Density in the Twin Cities Scale Poster (2.3 MB)
- Housing Density in the Suburbs and Small Towns Scale Poster (20.1 MB)
These are photographs of individual buildings and developments of varying densities. - The National Organization of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) has a web site including fact sheets on land use planning and a jargon fact sheet.
Reports and Guidelines
- Georgia Department of Transportation. Pedestrian and Streetscape Guide
This guide provides guidance regarding the design, construction, and maintenance of pedestrian and streetscape facilities. It provides technical recommendations on things like sidewalk width, trail composition, etc.
Toolkit for Building Physical Activity into Daily Life
This toolkit was prepared for workshops in 2004 and 2005 and in this fast moving research field, some materials are outdated. - ICMA. Creating a Regulatory Blueprint for Healthy Community Design
Web Sites:
- National Environmental Health Association
This organization of health professionals has a useful web page on land use planning and design including several cases of planning (Igham County, Seattle-King County, Delaware County, and Tri-County Colorado). - World Health Organization: Europe
This office of the WHO makes urban design a focus of activities. Their web site includes links to various reports and cases. - Healthy Spaces and Places
This Australian group has developed case studies of examples of linking health and planning around Australia. - InformeDesign
InformeDesign is a research and communication tool for designers. Its search engine provides research summaries on many health themes. Each article summary has the following elements: design issue, design criteria, key concepts, research method, limitations, and commentary.
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