City Building and Public Health: Threats and Opportunities in China
Keywords:
Physical activity, Environmental HealthAbstract
Evidence suggests that the physical and functional aspects of the urban built environment may affect one’s health through physical activity and access to healthy food. Rapid economic growth and urbanization have significantly changed China’s urban built environment, which can have long-term effects on people’s lifestyle and health. To build healthier cities for China’s growing yet aging urban population, researchers should act now to develop robust evidence of the relationship between urban form and health behavior while policymakers need focus on timely decision-making with the limited evidence available.References
Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau. (1999-2007). The communiqué on the Environmental Status of Beijing City.
Bettencourt, L. M. A., Lobo, J., Helbing, D., Kühnert, C., & West, G. B. (2007). Growth, innovation, scaling, and the pace of life in cities. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA., 104(17), 7301-7306.
Boarnet, M., Day, K., Anderson, C., McMillan, T., & Alfonzo, M. (2005). California's Safe Routes to School Program: Impacts on Walking, Bicycling, and Pedestrian Safety. Journal of the American Planning Association, 71(3), 301-317.
Brownson, R.C., Hoehner, C.M., Day, K., Forsyth, A., & Sallis, J.F. (2009). Measuring the Built Environment for Physical Activity: State of the Science. American Journal of Preventitive Medicine, 36(4S).
Cao, X., Mokhtarian, P. L., & Handy, S. L. (2009). Examining the impacts of residential self-selection on travel behavior: A focus on empirical findings. Transport Reviews, 29(3), 359-395.
Cervero, R., Sarmiento, O., Jacoby, E., Gomez, L., & Neiman, A. (2009). Influences of Built Environments on Walking and Cycling: Lessons from Bogota. International Journal of Sustainable Transport, 3, 203-226.
Chan C.K., Yao X.H. (2008). Air pollution in megacities in China. Atmospheric Environment, 42:1-42.
Crane, R. (2000). The influence of urban form on travel: An interpretive review. Journal of Planning Literature, 15(1), 3–23.
D.C. Quiros, E.S. Lee, R. Wang, and Y. Zhu. (2013). Ultrafine particle exposure of street users walking, cycling, and driving along an urban residential roadway, Atmospheric Environment, 73: 185-194.
Edwards, R. D. (2008). Public transit, obesity, and medical costs: Assessing the magnitudes. Preventive Medicine, 46(1), 14–21.
Eid, J., Overman, H., Puga, D., & Turner, M. (2008). Fat City: Questioning the Relationship Between Urban Sprawl and Obesity. Journal of Urban Economics, 63(2), 385-404.
Ewing, R., & Cervero, R. (2010). Travel and the Built Environment. Journal of the American Planning Association, 76(3), 265-294.
Frank, L. D., & Engelke, P. (2001). The Built Environment and Human Activity Patterns: Exploring the impacts of urban form on public health. Journal of Planning Literature, 16(2), 202–218.
Frank, L., Sallis, J.F., Conway, T.L., Chapman, J.E., Saelens, B.E., & Bachman, W. (2006). Many Pathways from Land Use to Health: Associations between neighborhood walkability and active transportation, body mass index, and air quality. Journal of the American Planning Association, 72(1), 75-87.
Gebel, K., Bauman, A. E., & Petticrew, M. (2007). The physical environment and physical activity. A critical appraisal of review articles. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32(5), 361–369.
Guo, J. Y., & Chen, C. (2007). The built environment and travel behavior: making the connection. Transportation, 34, 529–533.
Guo, Z. (2009). Does the Built Environment Affect the Utility of Walking? A Case of Path Choice in Downtown Boston. Transportation Research D: Transport and Environment, 14, 343-352.
Hu, D., Reardon, T., Rozelle, S., Timmer, P., & Wang, H. (2004) The emergence of supermarkets with Chinese characteristics: challenges and opportunities for China's agricultural development. Development Policy Review, 22, 557–586.
Humpel, N., Owen, N., & Leslie, E. (2002). Environmental factors associated with adults’ participation in physical activity: A review. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 22(3), 188–199.
Jeffery, R., Baxter, J., McGuire, M., & Linde, J. (2006). Are fast food restaurants an environmental risk factor for obesity? International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 3(1), 2.
Kahn, E. B., Ramsey, L. T., Brownson, R. C., Heath, G. W., Howze, E. H., Powell, K., & Stone, E. (2002). The effectiveness of interventions to increase physical activity: A systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 22(4), 73–107.
Krizek, K. J. (2003). Residential relocation and changes in urban travel: does neighborhood-scale urban form matter? Journal of the American Planning Association, 69(3), 265–279.
Lee, C., & Moudon, A. V. (2004). Physical activity and environment research in the health field: Implications for urban and transportation planning practice and research. Journal of Planning Literature, 19(2), 147–181.
Mokhtarian, P. L., & Cao, X. (2008). Examining the impacts of residential self-selection on travel behavior: a focus on methodologies. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 43(3), 204–228.
Moore, L.V., Diez-Roux, A.V., Nettleton, J.A., Jacobs, D.R. (2008). Associations of the local food environment with diet quality—a comparison of GIS and survey assessments: the multiethnic study of atherosclerosis. American Journal of Epidemiology,167(8), 917-24.
Narumi, D., Kondo, A., & Shimoda, Y. (2009). The effect of the increase in urban temperature on the concentration of photochemical oxidants. Atmospheric Environment, 43(14), 2348-2359.
Papas, M. A., Alberg, A.J., Ewing, R., Helzlsouer, K.J., Gary, T.L., & Klassen, A.C. (2007). The built environment and obesity. Epidemiologic Reviews, 29, 129-143.
Popkin, B.M. (2008). Will China’s nutrition transition overwhelm its health care system and slow economic growth? Health Affairs, 27(4), 1064-1076.
Raja, S., Yin, L., Roemmich, J., Ma, C., Epstein, L., Yadav, P., & Ticoalu, A.B. (2010). Food Environment, Built Environment, and Women’s BMI: Evidence from Erie County, New York. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 29(4), 444-460.
Stead, D., & Marshall, S. (2001). The relationships between urban form and travel patterns. An international review and evaluation. European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, 1(2), 113–141.
TRB (Transportation Research Board). (2005). Does the built environment influence physical activity? Examining the evidence. Transportation Research Board Special Report 282.
TRB (Transportation Research Board). (2009). Driving and the Built Environment: The Effects of Compact Development on Motorized Travel, Energy Use, and CO2 Emissions. Transportation Review Board Special Report 298.
Van de Poel, E., O’Donnell, O., & Van Doorslaer. E. (2009). Urbanization and the spread of diseases of affluence in China. Economics and Human Biology, 7(2), 200–216.
Wang, R., & Shi, L. (2012). Access to food outlets and children’s nutritional intake in urban China: a difference-in-difference analysis. Italian Journal of Pediatrics, 38(30), doi:10.1186/1824-7288-38-30.
World Bank & SEPA (State Environmental Protection Administration, P. R. China). (2007). Cost of Pollution in China: Economic Estimates of Physical Damages. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Younger, M., Morrow-Almeida, H.R., Vindigni, S.M. & Dannenberg, A.L. (2008). The built environment, climate change, and health opportunities for co-benefits. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 35(5), 517-526.
Zegras, C. (2010). The built environment and motor vehicle ownership and use: Evidence from Santiago de Chile. Urban Studies, 47, 1793.
Zheng, Y. (2008). The benefit of public transportation: Physical activity to reduce obesity and ecological footprint. Preventive Medicine, 46(1), 4–5.
