Exam Part 2

Smaller Scale

Lightning - Electricity - Water access

What is the burden of disease due to the physical environment?

- Occupational exposures: (mining, agriculture and others) result in morbidity and mortality include lung diseases caused by exposures to hazardous dusts, hearing loss from loud noises, and back pain from excessive lifting, as well as a wide range of other mechanical problems, including carpal tunnel syndrome which is often caused by repetitive motion of the hand and wrist.

What is the burden of disease due to the physical environment?

- The impact of toxic substances on population health extends beyond acute symptoms such as skin and respiratory irritation to chronic conditions.

What is a Walk Score?

- Walk score: nationally and publicly available metric of neighborhood walkability based on proximity to amenities (e.g., retail, food, schools) - Walk Score: number between 0 and 100 that measures the walkability of any address.

Examples of local changes in the built environment to enhance PA

Building an underline under the metro for cyclist

How can the built environment be enhanced to encourage physical activity?

Develop and maintain mixed land use in city neighborhoods ● Improve access to transit and transit facilities ● Improve access to plazas, parks, open spaces, and recreational facilities ● Improve access to full-service grocery stores and fresh produce; ● Design accessible, pedestrian-friendly streets with high connectivity, traffic calming features, landscaping, lighting, benches, and water fountains; ● Facilitate bicycling for recreation and transportation by developing continuous bicycle networks and incorporating infrastructure like safe indoor and outdoor bicycle parking

How can the built environment be enhanced to encourage physical activity?

Incorporate a mix of land uses 2. Design well-connected street networks at the human scale 3. Provide sidewalks and enticing, pedestrian-oriented streetscapes 4. Provide infrastructure to support biking 5. Design visible, enticing stairs to encourage everyday use. 6. Install stair prompts and signage 7. Provide high-quality spaces for multigenerational play and recreation. 8. Build play spaces for children

What is the burden of disease due to the physical environment?

Motor vehicle injuries and exposure to toxic substances are two important actual causes of death that represent the largest known impact of the physical environment. Together, these incidents are estimated to cause nearly 10,000 deaths per year, representing about 20% of preventable deaths in the U.S and approximately 10% of all deaths in the country.

Urban suburban paradox

Obesity, physical inactivity, and associated diseases of diabetes and CVDs are more prevalent among inner-city residents than among suburbanites.

What is meant by the term built environment

Relatively new concept that includes all the impacts of the physical environment as a result of human construction. The impacts of human construction include injuries and exposures in the home, the transportation system, and where we work and play.

Urban Sprawl

Situation in which large stores, groups of houses, etc., are built in an area around a city that formerly had few people living in it

Micro/macro level examples of the built environment

Small Scale and Large Scale

In what way does the built environment influence health?

Some alterations to our environment may improve human health (water treatment, waste management, mosquito and flood control.)

Larger Scale

Transportation system Housing Recycle Economic Development

Urban Sprawl- What are it's effects on health?

has resulted in epidemics of obesity and isolation. Their consequences: chronic health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis and some forms of cancer; and loss of social fabric

The impact of the built environment is wide ranging throughout the world, but differs greatly by geography and stage of social and economic development.

indoor air pollution from cooking is the most prominent source of air pollution in much of the developing world. Motor vehicle injuries are the most deadly consequences of the built environment in most developed countries. The built environment has subtle impacts as well. The way we build our cities affects the amount of exercise we get and the quantity of noise pollution we experience. Construction methods affect air systems in buildings and can increase our exposure to "sick buildings."