Editing Built environment (section)

=== Health ===
The built environment can heavily impact the public's health. Historically, unsanitary conditions and overcrowding within cities and urban environments have led to infectious diseases and other health threats.<ref name=":14">{{Cite journal |last1=Perdue |first1=Wendy Collins |last2=Stone |first2=Lesley A. |last3=Gostin |first3=Lawrence O. |date=September 2003 |title=The Built Environment and Its Relationship to the Public's Health: The Legal Framework |journal=American Journal of Public Health |volume=93 |issue=9 |pages=1390–1394 |doi=10.2105/ajph.93.9.1390 |issn=0090-0036 |pmc=1447979 |pmid=12948949}}</ref> Dating back to [[Georges-Eugène Haussmann|Georges-Eugene Haussmann]]'s comprehensive plans for urban Paris in the 1850s, concern for lack of air-flow and sanitary living conditions has inspired many strong city planning efforts. During the 19th century in particular, the connection between the built environment and public health became more apparent as life expectancy decreased and diseases, as well as epidemics, increased.<ref name=":14" /> Today, the built environment can expose individuals to pollutants or toxins that cause chronic diseases like [[asthma]], [[diabetes]], and coronary vascular disease, along with many others.<ref name=":14" /> There is evidence to suggest that chronic disease can be reduced through healthy behaviors like a proper active lifestyle, good nutrition, and reduced exposure to toxins and pollutants.<ref name=":14" /> Yet, the built environment is not always designed to facilitate those healthy behaviors. Many urban environments, in particular suburbs, are automobile reliant, making it difficult or unreasonable to walk or bike to places. This condition not only adds to pollution, but can also make it hard to maintain a proper active lifestyle. Public health research has expanded the list of concerns associated with the built environment to include [[healthy diet|healthy]] [[food security|food access]], [[community gardening|community garden]]s, [[mental health]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Assari, A Birashk, B Nik, M Mousavi Naghdbishi, R |year=2016 |title=IMPACT OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT ON MENTAL HEALTH: REVIEW OF TEHRAN CITY IN IRAN |journal=International Journal on Technical and Physical Problems of Engineering |volume=8 |issue=26 |pages=81–87}}</ref> [[physical health]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Boncinelli |first1=Fabio |last2=Riccioli |first2=Francesco |last3=Marone |first3=Enrico |date=May 2015 |title=Do forests help to keep my body mass index low? |journal=Forest Policy and Economics |volume=54 |pages=11–17 |doi=10.1016/j.forpol.2015.02.003 |issn=1389-9341|hdl=11568/936732 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sander |first1=Heather A. |last2=Ghosh |first2=Debarchana |last3=Hodson |first3=Cody B. |date=August 2017 |title=Varying age-gender associations between body mass index and urban greenspace |journal=Urban Forestry & Urban Greening |volume=26 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.1016/j.ufug.2017.05.016 |issn=1618-8667 |pmc=5716478 |pmid=29225562}}</ref> [[walkability]], and [[cycling mobility]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Lee |first=V |author2=Mikkelsen, L |author3=Srikantharajah, J |author4=Cohen, L |title=Strategies for Enhancing the Built Environment to Support Healthy Eating and Active Living |url=http://www.preventioninstitute.org/component/jlibrary/article/id-60/127.htm |access-date=29 April 2012 |work=Prevention Institute}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Designing areas of cities with good public health is linked to creating opportunities for physical activity, community involvement, and equal opportunity within the built environment. Urban forms that encourage physical activity and provide adequate public resources for involvement and upward mobility are proven to have far healthier populations than those that discourage such uses of the built environment.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frank |first1=Lawrence D. |last2=Engelke |first2=Peter O. |date=2001-11-01 |title=The Built Environment and Human Activity Patterns: Exploring the Impacts of Urban Form on Public Health |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/08854120122093339 |journal=Journal of Planning Literature |language=en |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=202–218 |doi=10.1177/08854120122093339 |issn=0885-4122 |s2cid=153978150|url-access=subscription }}</ref>