The Built Environment and Health
The built environment represents the places and spaces that are made by people; those in which we live, work, learn, visit, and play every day.[] It includes buildings, parks, and all the things humans have made or changed, like roads and bridges.
How good or bad the built environment is in your community can affect public health.[] Places and spaces can be built, designed, or set up to encourage healthy behaviors and support physical, mental, and social health. A good built environment can make it easier for people to access resources and places, stay safe, afford living costs, meet the community’s special needs, and highlight what’s great about where they live. All this can make people healthier and happier.[]
Every community should have a high-quality built environment that supports health and healthy behaviors. But not every community has a strong built environment. Sometimes, because of discriminatory history and policies, some places don’t get as much money and attention. As a result, there are large disparities in the quality of the built environments across the country and within Massachusetts.
[BE1] Roof, K, Oleru, N. (2008). Public Health: Seattle and King County’s Push for the Built Environment. Journal of Environmental Health, 71(1), 24-27. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6315/7a403f36a9c1c40e41f0b27c5a219ebb482c.pdf
[BE2] Urban Land Institute. (2013). Intersections: Health and the Built Environment. Urban Land Institute. https://uli.org/wp-content/uploads/ULI-Documents/Intersections-Health-and-the-Built-Environment.pdf