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Healthy Urban Design
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Healthy Urban Design

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Health, Well-Being and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 17761

Special Issue Editor

Prof. David Rojas-Rueda

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Interests: environmental epidemiology; health impact assessment; risk assessment; burden of disease; public health; health in all policies; sustainable development goals; environmental risk factors; climate change; urban health; built environment and health; transport and health; air pollution; physical activity; green spaces; aging and child health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The journal Sustainability is hosting a Special Issue on “Healthy Urban Design”.

The World Health Organization refers to “Healthy Urban Design” as urban planning for people, where the needs of people and communities are at the heart of the urban planning process and considering the implications of decisions for human health and wellbeing. The term, however, also means finding the right balance between social, environmental, and economic pressures and therefore has much in common with planning for sustainable development. The concept is based on core Healthy Cities principles of equity, intersectoral cooperation, community involvement, and sustainability.

In this Special Issue, we are seeking high-quality contributions from all around the world. We welcome contributions on healthy urban design applied to any geographical scale or population. We seek healthy urban design reviews, methodological papers, evaluations, case studies, best practices, and critical analyses. We invite contributors from academia, practitioners, and policymakers.

Prof. David Rojas-Rueda
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Urban design
  • Built environment
  • Landscape architecture
  • Placemaking
  • Urban acupuncture
  • Urban habitat
  • Urban sustainability
  • Sustainable development
  • Public spaces
  • Open spaces
  • Housing and buildings
  • Urban master plans
  • Architecture
  • Natural-based solutions
  • Green spaces
  • Blue spaces
  • Health equity
  • Healthy aging
  • Climate change
  • Transportation
  • Public transport
  • Cycling
  • Walking
  • Land use and sprawl
  • Air pollution
  • Noise
  • Traffic safety
  • Crime
  • Physical activity
  • Extreme temperatures
  • Biodiversity
  • Ecosystem services
  • Mortality
  • Morbidity
  • Biomarkers
  • Quality of life
  • Life expectancy
  • Wellbeing
  • Happiness
  • Environmental health
  • Urban health
  • Community-based participatory research
  • Epidemiology
  • Health impact assessment
  • Burden of disease
  • Risk assessment
  • Complex systems
  • Benefit–cost analysis
  • Economic assessments
  • Health in all policies
  • Stakeholder participation
  • Sustainable development goals

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 1945 KiB  
Article
The Association of Falls Risk in Older Adults and Their Living Environment: A Case Study of Rural Area, Thailand
by Pawinee Iamtrakul, Sararad Chayphong, Sajjakaj Jomnonkwao and Vatanavongs Ratanavaraha
Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 13756; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132413756 - 13 Dec 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3560
Abstract
Falls in older adults have become a serious problem and a major cause of home injuries and even deaths. The increasing number of older people that will enter the “older adults” category in a few years’ time calls for an effective plan to [...] Read more.
Falls in older adults have become a serious problem and a major cause of home injuries and even deaths. The increasing number of older people that will enter the “older adults” category in a few years’ time calls for an effective plan to mitigate the risk factors to falling. This article reported on our study of the relationship between living environment hazards and fall risk in older adults to reduce and prevent the risk of falling using a specific case of a rural area in Thailand. A site investigation together with a questionnaire survey were conducted in a total of 950 homes of older people who were interviewed in conjunction with authorities from Banphaeo district of Samutsakorn Province, Thailand. Using a multinomial logistic regression model, this research found the following risk of falls based on the categorizations of the calculated risk factors among socio-economic characteristics (sex, age, marital status, income), health status (congenital diseases), and living environment characteristics (toilet availability in bedroom). The analysis identified a multifactorial relationship involving intrinsic and extrinsic factors that determined fall risk among older adults. Based on the findings of the research, risk factors associated with socioeconomic determinants in term of poverty were found as a key barrier in promoting the health and well-being of older adults. We recommend interventions for fall prevention and fall risk-reduction strategies through improvement of the physical environment in the homes of older adults as a proactive measure to lessen the causes of home injuries from falls. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthy Urban Design)
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21 pages, 59520 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Streetscape and Built Environment Designs around BRT Stations: A Stated Choice Experiment Using 3D Visualizations
by Ahmad Adeel, Bruno Notteboom, Ansar Yasar, Kris Scheerlinck and Jeroen Stevens
Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6594; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13126594 - 09 Jun 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5679
Abstract
The incompatibility between the microscale-built environment designs around mass transit stations and stakeholders’ preferences causes dissatisfaction and inconvenience. The lack of a pedestrian-friendly environment, uncontrolled development patterns, traffic and parking issues make the street life vulnerable and unattractive for users, and affect the [...] Read more.
The incompatibility between the microscale-built environment designs around mass transit stations and stakeholders’ preferences causes dissatisfaction and inconvenience. The lack of a pedestrian-friendly environment, uncontrolled development patterns, traffic and parking issues make the street life vulnerable and unattractive for users, and affect the mass transit usage. How to design the streetscapes around mass transit stations to provide a user-friendly street environment is a crucial question to achieve sustainable transit-oriented development goals. To recognize the specific attributes of streetscape environment relevant in local context of BRT Lahore, this paper presents the results of a visual preference experiment in which nine attributes of built environment were systematically varied across choice sets. Multinomial logit models were set up to identify the preferences of three target groups: BRT users, commercial building users and residents at different locations. The research indicates that not only the road-related factors (bike lane and sidewalk widths, crossings facilities, street greenery) have a significant influence on people’s preference but also that building heights, and the typology of buildings and housing projects around BRT corridor have shaped these preferences. When planning and designing urban design projects around mass transit projects, these significant attributes should be considered. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthy Urban Design)
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26 pages, 977 KiB  
Article
Understanding the Role of Standards in the Negotiation of a Healthy Built Environment
by Rosalie Callway, Helen Pineo and Gemma Moore
Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 9884; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12239884 - 26 Nov 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3657
Abstract
A growing number of international standards promote Healthy Built Environment (HBE) principles which aim to enhance occupant and user health and wellbeing. Few studies examine the implementation of these standards; whether and how they affect health through changes to built-environment design, construction, and [...] Read more.
A growing number of international standards promote Healthy Built Environment (HBE) principles which aim to enhance occupant and user health and wellbeing. Few studies examine the implementation of these standards; whether and how they affect health through changes to built-environment design, construction, and operations. This study reviews a set of sustainability and HBE standards, based on a qualitative analysis of standard documents, standard and socio-technical literature on normalization and negotiation, and interviews with 31 practitioners from four geographical regions. The analysis indicates that standards can impact individual, organizational, and market-scale definitions of an HBE. Some changes to practice are identified, such as procurement and internal layout decisions. There is more limited evidence of changes to dominant, short-term decision-making practices related to cost control and user engagement in operational decisions. HBE standards risk establishing narrow definitions of health and wellbeing focused on building occupants rather than promoting broader, contextually situated, principles of equity, inclusion, and ecosystem functioning crucial for health. There is a need to improve sustainability and HBE standards to take better account of local contexts and promote systems thinking. Further examination of dominant collective negotiation processes is required to identify opportunities to better embed standards within organizational practice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthy Urban Design)
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19 pages, 1343 KiB  
Article
Pedestrian Walkways for Health in Shiraz, Iran, the Contribution of Attitudes, and Perceived Environmental Attributes
by Mohammad Paydar, Asal Kamani Fard and Marzieh Khaghani
Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7263; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12187263 - 04 Sep 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2864
Abstract
Walking is important for improving physical activity and public health. The pedestrian walkways called Walkways for Health in Shiraz, Iran, present a high standard of aesthetic and design features which attract many people for the purpose of recreation. In addition, a significant percentage [...] Read more.
Walking is important for improving physical activity and public health. The pedestrian walkways called Walkways for Health in Shiraz, Iran, present a high standard of aesthetic and design features which attract many people for the purpose of recreation. In addition, a significant percentage of Iranians suffer from mental disorders. The contribution of aesthetic and design features toward walking for recreation as well as mental health has been demonstrated in previous studies, which have focused on either one or the other of these aspects. This interdisciplinary research study aims to evaluate both of these aspects simultaneously. A quantitative approach including a survey questionnaire and multiple regression analysis was used to examine the objectives. The contributions of walking attitudes and several perceived environmental attributes to the attractiveness for walking and to general/mental health were determined, which suggested the need for new arrangements of the visual sequences and social setting along these walkways. In addition, the observation that younger people suffer are more affected by mental health disorders was one of the most challenging findings. The policy makers of this city could apply the findings of this study to these pedestrian walkways in order to improve the attractiveness for walking as well as general and mental health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthy Urban Design)
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