|
| Take Action: on current issues in the region. Contact your local elected officials and write a letter to the editor (use information below for talking points) |
| Update: |
As our communities grow, it is important to consider how land use decisions affect our quality of life. Public health is tied to plans for growth implementation, and how it impacts physical and mental health.
Communities affected by poorly planned growth, or sprawl, are often dominated by traffic and pavement making our neighborhoods unsafe for pedestrian and bicycle use. Dependence on our cars is the leading cause of human inactivity. Research shows that those of us living in sprawling areas have higher rates of obesity and blood pressure.
Poorly planned growth also severly threatens our health through water and air quality. Pollutants from roadways; such as oil, salt, and sediments, enter our waterways as run-off from miles of pavement, while emissions from automobiles fill the air. Degradation of these natural resources damages the water we drink and the air we breathe.
Mental
Health and Sprawl
Because of sprawl, long commutes and traffic congestion have become a part of
our daily lives. In fact, many of us become impatient, angry, and even hostile
when travelling to our destinations. In November 2000, Howard Frumkin, Chair
of Environmental and Occupational health at the Emory School of Public Health,
introduced statistics that showed road rage was a bigger problem in sprawling
cities than condensed ones. One disturbing statistic came from a poll stating
that 5% of respondents said that they “sometimes” or “often”
thought about hurting other drivers as a result of frustration from driving. Such
aggression is not only unhealthy for the driver, but also for the dozens of other
commuters that are in his or her path.
In addition, unmanaged growth causes our social communities to be torn apart as wide roads, strip malls and big box store chains are replacing traditional American main streets that foster a sense of community. This has a tremendous impact on the health of communities as it causes people to become less connected to their communities and to each other. Improving one's mental health has a profound affect on not only the well-being of that individual, but the entire community that he or she is part of.
Smart
Growth solutions directly link land-use with transportation solutions,
improving water and air quality, and preserving natural areas. Planning
for growth gives us the ability to shape our communities and make them
healthier places to live and work.
Solutions
History
Contacts
Related Issues:
Walking
and Biking
Air
Quality
Affordable
Housing
Open Space
Transit
Oriented Development
Water Quality
More Information:
Sprawl and Respiratory Illness
Smog
Obesity and Sprawl
Dangerous Roads and Sprawl
Safe Routes to
Schools and Transit
Reports & Articles:
Transportation,
Sprawl, and Health (Environmental Defense)
Impacts
of Sprawl on Human Health (Biodiversity Project PDF)
"The
Transportation Bill Could Slim Us Down", by
David Goldberg
