The Impact of Health-Promoting Built Environments on Public Health

Dear Colleagues,

There is a large body of published research linking features of the built environment to improved health behaviors and health outcomes [1,2,3]. Such research has increasingly been applied in the design of communities that allow for increased walkability, access to public transportation, and access to green spaces. Increasingly, health-promoting features (access to natural light, communal spaces for gathering, attention to indoor air quality) are also being considered as key elements of a healthy indoor environment. Despite several decades of research on the link between built environments and health, data that will elucidate the pathways between features of a built environment and specific health outcomes are still needed. For example, what are the links between community green spaces, social cohesion, and measures of psychological well-being? Which specific features of a built environment are most impactful on physical activity behaviors? Additional examples of relevant topics are as follows:

Outdoor Built environments

Physical (built) environment

• Features: walkability, livability, access to alternate forms of transportation;
• Health Outcomes: cardiovascular health-related.

Natural environments (integration into built environment)

• Features: planned green spaces (biophilic environs) and health;
• Health Outcomes: mental health-related outcomes (well-being, QOL).

Social environments (integration into built environment)

• Features: built environment opportunities for social connection, shared green spaces for neighborhood gatherings, community amenities, design features such as front porches, mixed-use features;
• Health Outcomes: mental health-related outcomes (well-being, QOL).

Indoor Environments

Physical

• Features: ventilation/HVAC for infectious disease prevention. allergy/irritant reduction, odor reduction. Cleanliness and attention to upkeep.
• Health Outcomes: prevention of infectious dx (Legionnaires, COVID-19, etc.), reduction in respiratory symptoms (asthma, mucus membrane irritation), mental health-related outcomes (well-being, QOL).

Natural environments (integration into built environment)

• Features: natural light and circadian rhythms;
• Health Outcomes: mental health-related outcomes (well-being, QOL).

Social (integration into built environment)

• Features: social building layouts that promote community social connectedness;
• Health Outcomes: mental health-related outcomes (well-being, QOL).

We invite papers that examine the extent to which health-promoting features of a built environment have specifically impacted health- and well-being-related outcomes. We especially welcome papers that provide data examining links between features of a built environment (outdoor or indoor), health promoting behaviors, and health- and well-being-related outcomes (mental and/or physical).

References

1. Bird, E.L.; Ige, J.O.; Pilkington, P.; Pinto, A.; Petrokofsky, C.; Burgess-Allen, J. Built and natural environment planning principles for promoting health: an umbrella review. BMC Public Heal. 2018, 18, 930, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5870-2.
2. Evans, G.W. The Built Environment and Mental Health. J. Urban Heal. 2003, 80, 536–555, https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/jtg063.
3. Ortegon-Sanchez, A.; McEachan, R.R.C.; Albert, A.; Cartwright, C.; Christie, N.; Dhanani, A.; Islam, S.; Ucci, M.; Vaughan, L. Measuring the Built Environment in Studies of Child Health—A Meta-Narrative Review of Associations. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Heal. 2021, 18, 10741, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010741.

Prof. Dr. Julian A. Reed
Dr. Elizabeth W. Holt
Guest Editors

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• green space
• health and well-being
• health-promoting environments
• indoor built environments
• outdoor built environments