Built environment

The built environment refers to the man-made physical components of our environment.

The layout and features of our environment can predict our behaviours and our exposure to health hazards.

What is the built environment?

The built environment refers to the man-made physical components of our environment. It includes everything from buildings, transportation systems, street networks and open spaces like parking lots and soccer fields.

How are the built environment and health related?

The layout and features of our environment can predict our behaviours and our exposure to health hazards. Consider, for instance, the accessibility of healthy foods, the amount of traffic near our homes and the distances we must travel to work, play or school. Also consider how we travel (walking, cycling, public transit or personal vehicle), the safety of the air, water and soil near our homes and the abundance or lack of nature in our immediate environment.

The design and features of the built environment can help or hinder us in making healthy choices like getting exercise, using public transit, relaxing outside and finding healthy foods to buy. The built environment holds tremendous potential for addressing many current public health issues such as obesity, community safety, social inequities, mental health and exposure to environmental hazards.

Check out these interesting facts about the environment and our health:

Transportation

• Those who use public transit participate in more walking and other forms of active transportation than those who don’t.
• Traffic-related deaths tend to be higher in sprawling communities than in compact, mixed use communities.
• Attractive, well-kept neighbourhoods are associated with greater involvement in physical activity and walking for recreation.

Food

• Neighbourhood residents who have better access to supermarkets and limited access to convenience stores tend to have healthier diets and lower levels of obesity.
• Rural and low-income neighbourhoods are more likely to have fewer grocery stores selling healthy food. Convenience food and fast food is easier to come by in these neighbourhoods, making it more difficult to eat healthy.
• Maintaining local farmland and growing and consuming local food can save on transportation of food from far away. This reduces transportation pollution and supports the local economy.

Green spaces

• Maintaining green spaces and natural banks on water bodies and streams filters environmental pollutants and reduces run-off into our water supplies.
• Using nitrogen-free fertilizers helps prevent blue-green algae growth in lakes and rivers.
• Being in nature and urban green spaces has positive effects on heart rate, muscle tension and blood pressure. Exposure to the outdoors is linked to decreased stress, faster recovery from fatigue and even greater job satisfaction.

How is Public Health Sudbury & Districts building a healthy environment?

The creation and modification of the built environment is achieved through a complex web of professions, disciplines and influencers. We work with municipalities, planners, developers, provincial and federal ministries, professional organizations, community groups and other partners to ensure that health is considered in decision making.

We envision the creation of vibrant, safe communities that prevent disease, promote health and ultimately enhance the quality of life for all residents.

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This item was last modified on August 16, 2019