Spotlights:
NIH and CDC recently released a Request for Applications (RFA)
on an initiative regarding obesity and the built environment.
More...
Join the CDC Livability Listserv -
CDC facilitates a listserv that addresses issues related to health and the
built environment.
Events
- View our new events page for information on events related to designing
and building healthy places.
The September 2003 issue of American
Journal of Public Health featured research on the effect of land use and
community design on public health concerns such as physical activity,
obesity, and pedestrian injuries and fatalities. |
Designing and Building Healthy Places
As the leading public health agency in the United States, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientifically considers all
factors that affect the health of the nation. As we embark into the 21st
century, the interaction between people and their environments, natural
as well as human-made, continues to emerge as a major issue concerning
public health.
Health and Healthy Places
According to the World Health Organization, health is a state of
complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the
absence of infirmity. A healthy community as described by the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services Healthy
People 2010 report is one that continuously creates and improves both its
physical and social environments, helping people to support one another in
aspects of daily life and to develop to their fullest potential. Healthy
places are those designed and built to improve the quality of life
for all people who live, work, worship, learn, and play within their
borders -- where every person is free to make choices amid a variety of
healthy, available, accessible, and affordable
options.
Health Issues as Related to Community Design
CDC recognizes several significant health issues that are related to
land use, including--
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