Healthy communities must also be sustainable communities.
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The author contends that healthy communities must be both environmentally and socially sustainable, given that health depends on the quality of the built and natural environments, and that global change resulting from the industrial economy is affecting the web of life. He argues that suburban sprawl wastes scarce resources and disproportionately places those resources in the hands of suburban dwellers. Urban areas can be made more environmentally sustainable, especially with respect to energy consumption, which will help reduce air pollution and climate change and contribute in other ways to improved health. (+info)
The city government's role in community health improvement.
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Amid increasing pressures to address complex issues not traditionally assigned to localities, Healthy Cities is seen as a powerful model for community improvement and quality-of-life enhancements for individuals and organizations willing to think beyond the traditional local government management models and responsibilities. As a model for community-oriented government, it offers opportunities for fostering a return to "barnraising" concepts, civic responsibility, participation, tailoring solutions to local circumstances, and the transition of local government to governance models. (+info)
Police as contributors to Healthy Communities: Aiken, South Carolina.
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In Aiken, South Carolina, community policing has led to numerous innovative programs that have contributed to a healthy community. The MOMS and COPS (Managing Our Maternity System with Community Oriented Policing System) program has played a significant part in the county's 50% decrease in infant mortality since 1989 and contributed to Aiken's designation as an All-America City in 1997. Other programs include a mentoring program for at-risk teen girls; instant crime reporting with donated cellular phones; seminars for seniors to alert them to scams and common crimes; demolition of unsafe homes; free installation of smoke detectors; a child ID program; and parental education on child brain development. (+info)
A park for all the people.
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A small park in downtown Oakland, California, has been a focal point for community-building and neighborhood improvement. This effort embodies the Healthy Cities cooperative approach to promoting social justice and positive community change. The story of the revitalization of this park is a story of individual and personal actions that collectively have shaped policy and strategy to improve the quality of life in this city. (+info)
The pathology of planning.
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A study of morbidity on a new housing estate reveals a higher prevalence rate of both physical and mental illness. Much of this is due to physical factors associated with the estate which could have been avoided in the light of previous experience had more attention been given to detail. The proposals embodied in the management arrangements for the reorganised National Health Service should provide the machinery to prevent these faults recurring. (+info)
Root shock: the consequences of African American dispossession.
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Urban renewal was one of several processes that contributed to deurbanization of American cities in the second half of the 20th century. Urban renewal was an important federal policy that affected thousands of communities in hundreds of cities. Urban renewal was to achieve "clearance" of "blight" and "slum" areas so that they could be rebuilt for new uses other than housing the poor. Urban renewal programs fell disproportionately on African American communities, leading to the slogan "Urban renewal is Negro removal." The short-term consequences were dire, including loss of money, loss of social organization, and psychological trauma. The long-term consequences flow from the social paralysis of dispossession, most important, a collapse of political action. This has important implications for the well-being of African Americans. It also raises important questions about the strength and quality of American democracy. (+info)
Biological consequences of land use.
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The primary goals of land-use planning are enunciated. A plea is made for consideration of the total biosphere and not just its separate components. The environmental impact statement process is reviewed and some suggestions made for its strengthening. Moves for international adoption of this process are noted, as well as the concept of eco-development currently under examination by UN agencies. (+info)
Land use and transportation issues in environmental control.
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Analyses have been made of the effects of environmental controls and planning at regional, subarea, and project levels. The results obtained at the regional level are reviewed for a proposed highway development around Baltimore, Md. The findings for both short-term and long-term effects of alternative transport policies are summarized in respect of population and employment, economic indicators, traffic and travel, air quality, water and solid waste, noise, and environmentally sensitive areas. Problems at subarea and project levels are briefly considered. (+info)