%0 Journal Article
%T Impact of the Built Environment on Mental and Sexual Health: Policy Implications and Recommendations
%A David Satcher
%A Martha Okafor
%A LeCont¨¦ J. Dill
%J ISRN Public Health
%D 2012
%R 10.5402/2012/806792
%X Research related to the intersection of the built environment and health has particularly flourished in the last decade. The authors highlight the theoretical and policy insights that have been made while also noting paucity in this literature as specifically related to mental and sexual health. Overall, the authors discuss policy implications of aspects of the built environment on both mental and sexual health behaviors and outcomes and suggest avenues for future research, program implementation, and policymaking for advancing health equity in these areas. 1. Introduction The built environment has been defined as ¡°all buildings, spaces, and products that are created and modified by humans¡± [1]. Connections between the built environment and health can be traced back at least to Hippocrates¡¯ work On Airs, Waters and Places initially published more than 2600 years ago [2]. By studying the living conditions of populations in Europe and Asia, Hippocrates, a physician, asserted that human health and illness were associated with a desirable state of equilibrium between the human organism and his or her immediate environment [2]. In the United States, social science scholar and activist W. E. B. Du Bois established that health was a function of living conditions [3]. In particular, Du Bois¡¯ research illuminated the impact that urban planning decisions have on the most vulnerable populations in our society, namely, the very young, the poor, and people of color [3]. These vulnerable populations fare the most disproportionately in their health outcomes from untimely decision making and inaction on issues related to the built environment. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, issues related to the built environment were focused on sanitation, workplace safety, fire codes, lead abatement, access for people with disabilities, and other efforts to specifically combat communicable diseases. The 21st century is an opportunity for decisions related to the built environment to address the nation¡¯s greatest current public health concerns, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, injuries, violence, mental illness, substance abuse, sexual assault, and social inequities. Core areas of the built environment include land use, zoning, buildings, transportation systems, services, and public resources. Land use refers to the ways in which specific parcels of land and areas within communities are used [4]. Mixed use is a term to describe more than one type of land use in a given location (i.e., a business with an apartment above it). Zoning refers to the
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.public.health/2012/806792/