THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BUILT

ENVIROMENT & PUBLIC HEALTH

Photo Source: http://cdn.theatlanticcities.com/img/upload/2013/12/16/shutterstock_147334538/largest.jpg
MENNATULLAH HENDAWY
EGYPTIAN - URBAN PLANNER
Hendawyy@gmail.com
MSc. IUSD
AGENDA


1. HISTORY OF THE
RELATIONSHIP/CONNECTION

2. REACHING A COMMON
GROUND

3. APPRECIATING DIFFERENCES
THROUGH ACTIONS

FIRST,
LETS AGREE ON


WE SEE the
world
differently,
lets
appreciate
this difference
WE SHARE
Common
needs
WE WANT to
Live a happy
fruitful life,
where HEALTH
is a must
Is urban planning about physical design, or
about making things easier for the people who
live in our urban spaces?
ARE WE STRIVING FOR
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE OR
BEAUTIFUL CITIES?
1.HISTORY OF THE
RELATIONSHIP/CONNECTION
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/08/brief-history-birth-urban-planning/2365/
http://www.healthycommunitiesbydesign.org/Content/10052/HistoricalPerspective.html
THE STORY BEHIND.
?
Are
planners
striving for
beautiful
people or
beautiful
cities?
Before then

three types of
people thinking
about how a city
should look and
function
architects, public
health officials,
and social
workers.

+
first urban
planning
school, at
Harvard.
Cities focused on place at the
expense of people.
1898
A Brief History of the Birth of Urban Planning
Before then

three types of
people thinking
about how a city
should look and
function
architects, public
health officials,
and social
workers.

first urban
planning
school, at
Harvard.
Cities focused on place at the
expense of people.
Protestors outside the Cleveland, Ohio, city hall on January 20,
1970, protesting the city's air pollution. (
Bettmann/Corbis. Reproduced by permission.

http://www.pollutionissues.com/Fo-Hi/Health-
Human.html#b#ixzz2yWFmFFhy
THE STORY BEHIND.
?
Are
planners
striving for
beautiful
people or
beautiful
cities?
+
A Brief History of the Birth of Urban Planning
1898
CONNECTION TO PUBLIC
HEALTH?
Both professions spawned during the 19th century in
response to social and economic crises
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/08/brief-history-birth-urban-planning/2365/
http://www.healthycommunitiesbydesign.org/Content/10052/HistoricalPerspective.html
CONNECTION TO PUBLIC
HEALTH?
Both professions spawned during the 19th century in
response to social and economic crises
THE STORY BEHIND.
Local governments
started to control
land use through
zoning laws
preventing
factories from
locating close to
neighborhoods
segregate
communities, and
supported the
growth of
suburbs.

weakened
connection
between work,
home, retail and
other daily services,
isolating them from
one another and
making them
accessible only by
car.
Improvements in the
transportation
system

People were protected from
infectious diseases such as
tuberculosis and cholera
but they now faced new epidemics
such as obesity, asthma, heart
disease and diabetes, all related to
the design of the built environment.
DOCTORS ARE
FROM MARS

AND

URBAN PLANNERS ARE
FROM VENUS
THE STORY BEHIND.
The city as a metabolism. Courtesy H+N+S Landscape Architects for the IABR 2014


Some more Facts
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25762
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2010/urban_health_20100407/en/
http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/using-biodiversity-as-a-predictor-of-urban-health
http://www.nwcphp.org/communications/news/urban-planning-presentation/image_250



In 2008,
The number of
people living in
urban
areas outnumbered
those living in rural
areas for the first
time in history!
The world is rapidly
urbanizing with
significant changes
in our living
standards, lifestyles,
social behaviour
and health.
outdoor urban air
pollution kills some
1.2 million people
worldwide.
WHAT IS HAPENNING NOW?
Globally, road
traffic injuries are
the leading cause
of death among
youth
Some more Facts
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25762
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2010/urban_health_20100407/en/
http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/using-biodiversity-as-a-predictor-of-urban-health
http://www.nwcphp.org/communications/news/urban-planning-presentation/image_250



WHAT IS HAPENNING NOW?
rapid population growth
outpaces the municipal capacity
to build essential infrastructure

leading to the proliferation of
informal settlements.

Urbanization, both in the
developed and particularly in the
developing world, is
accompanied by a concentration
of poverty.
AN URGENT NEED FOR ACTION
2. REACHING A COMMON GROUND
The well-being of
society.

PUBLIC HEALTH VERSUS URBAN PLANNING
DEFINITION


The process that
regulates
development in
neighborhoods,
cities, and regions.
Its a broad
multidisciplinary
field that doesn't
only deal with
zoning issues


It creates
community-based
strategies to
prevent disease
and promote
health.
PUBLIC HEALTH VERSUS URBAN PLANNING
DEFINITION
Planners deal with;
transportation
systems, economy,
natural resources,
urban design, and
physical facilities.
That all come
together to define
our cities.
It creates
community-based
strategies to
prevent disease
and promote
health.
PUBLIC HEALTH VERSUS URBAN PLANNING
DEFINITION
Planners deal with;
transportation
systems, economy,
natural resources,
urban design, and
physical facilities.
That all come
together to define
our cities.
PUBLIC HEALTH VERSUS URBAN PLANNING
THE LINK


It studies how the
environment and
our behavior
impacts our
livelihood and
health. Our
behaviors are also
influenced by our
environment.

PUBLIC HEALTH VERSUS URBAN PLANNING
THE LINK
Our built
environment
influences behavior
and choices of
people based on
what is available
and convenient. In
turn this can shape
our lifestyles and
health outcomes.
Applying health trends knowledge helps create
new community policies, building codes, and
changes the practice of urban planning.


Applying this
knowledge helps
create new
community policies,
building codes, and
changes the
practice of urban
planning.
PUBLIC HEALTH VERSUS URBAN PLANNING
THE LINK
Our built
environment
influences behavior
and choices of
people based on
what is available
and convenient. In
turn this can shape
our lifestyles and
health outcomes.
Urban planning and public health share
common missions and perspectives. Both
aim to improve human well-being,
emphasize needs assessment and service
delivery, manage complex social
systems, focus at the population level,
and rely on community-based
participatory methods. Center for Disease
Control and Prevention Report on Urban Planning and
Public Heath
HOW CAN URBAN PLANNING
AND PUBLIC HEALH ADD TO
EACHOTHER?
3. APPRECIATING DIFFERENCES THROUGH ACTIONS

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE

Louis Pasteur


HEALTHY URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN
Acce
ss to
work



Healthy lifestyles
Social cohesion
Equity
Aesthetics
Quality of Land & Natural
Resources & Climate Stability
Air & Water Quality
Safety
Accessibility
Local low input food production and distribution
Housing quality

LIVABLE STREET PROJECT - New York Citys
Department of Transportation
LINKING HEALTH TO THE URBAN SCALES
Healthy Urban Planning and Development (courtesy of Billie Giles-Corti)
LINKING HEALTH TO THE URBAN SCALES
Coverage of urban scale by components of the urban environment
http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/114448/E93987.pdf
Comprehensive urban planning strategy

Its time to ACCEPT THE RESPONSIBILITY
CONCLUSION
Participatory and inclusive urban planning approaches

Physical activity/transportation policies/urban design


Establish partnerships with health organisations (e.g WHO)

Communication with key stakeholder groups. (e.g. raising awareness
among builders and financers )
developing regulatory and legislative options and incentives for
implementation. (e.g Compact urban form and mixed use of city areas)
THANK YOU

DANKE
SLUM AREA IN INDIA
http://www.imaginarylife.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/inside-netaji-nagar_sq.jpg

:

And whoever saves one[soul] - it is as if he
had saved mankind entirely
(Surat Al-M'idah, 32)
Holy Quran