Landscaping for well being. How the environment affects our health.

[Dover]

"...landscape architects are health leaders".

-- Dr. Richard Jackson




Dr. Richard Jackson: “We Are No Longer Creating Wellbeing”

Dr. Richard Jackson, Chair of the School of Health at UCLA, and former head of the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), argued that how we shape our environment impacts our health. There are now deep-rooted structural issues with the built environment that are creating epidemics of obesity, diabetes, and depression. Also, the current way of dealing with these structural issues is only just increasing the annual amount of spending on healthcare (now at 17 percent of GDP), instead of addressing the underlying problems. “We are now medicalizing the problems people are experiencing with their environment. We are no longer creating wellbeing.”

Instead of addressing the public health impacts of the absence of trees, low-albedo streets (which contribute to the urban heat island effect), as well as a lack of sustainable transportation planning, which can help spur the growth of public transit options, we are instead “looking at the end of the pipeline,” the medical effects. Our environment is sending us a message: “We are appendages to our cars.”

Jackson outlined a few of the structural issues that need to be addressed-

Cont'd

http://dirt.asla.org/2010/09/12/richard-jackson-we-are-no-longer-creating-wellbeing/#comment-4386




The Built Environment: Designing Communities to Promote Physical Activity in Children

Committee on Environmental Health

An estimated 32% of American children are overweight, and physical inactivity contributes to this high prevalence of overweight. This policy statement highlights how the built environment of a community affects children's opportunities for physical activity. Neighborhoods and communities can provide opportunities for recreational physical activity with parks and open spaces, and policies must support this capacity. Children can engage in physical activity as a part of their daily lives, such as on their travel to school. Factors such as school location have played a significant role in the decreased rates of walking to school, and changes in policy may help to increase the number of children who are able to walk to school. Environment modification that addresses risks associated with automobile traffic is likely to be conducive to more walking and biking among children. Actions that reduce parental perception and fear of crime may promote outdoor physical activity. Policies that promote more active lifestyles among children and adolescents will enable them to achieve the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity. By working with community partners, pediatricians can participate in establishing communities designed for activity and health.

http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/pediatrics;123/6/1591?rss=1






Types of Children's Landscapes

Outdoor Classrooms
School Gardens
Playgrounds
Discovery Gardens
Backyard Play Areas
Residential Discovery Gardens

http://www.mindspring.com/~discoverygardens/design/landtype/landtype.html


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[AlecBGreen]

1. walk to school!?

are you CRAZY!? My students would have to walk CLOSE TO A MILE to get to my school!1!

sarcasm aside, here is a story to illustrate your post:

A student (a very large girl from a tough part of town) was doing poorly in my class but she really wanted to improve her grade. I said "I am at school every morning by 7:30. Come by for help." She said the bus didnt get to school until 8:10 (1st block starts @ 8:25). I said, "so walk!" She looked like I had asked to grow wings and FLY to school. She said "Do I look like I do a whole lot of walking?"

I cant believe it, but im not even 30 yet and Im already grumbling about "kids these days..."

IMO, nothing can turn a kid around more than hard, physical work. Its good for what ails them :)

[XemaSab]

2. To paraphrase Isak Dineson:

Salt water cures all ills, be it tears, sweat, or the sea....