America's Health Threat Summary
Running Head: America’s Health Threat: Poor Urban Design
Fatima Diaby
Professor Pier A. Broadnax
University of the District of Columbia College
October 4, 2013
America’s Health Threat: Poor Urban Design
By Scott Carlson, The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 22, 2012.
Summary
Scott Carlson in this article “America’s Health Threat: Poor Urban Design” published in the Chronicle of Higher Education Website (January 22, 2012), talks about the link between poor urban area design and public health threat. It takes into account the economic and political effects for the poor design, then, suggests a restructuring of urban areas to include assessable facilities and walking paths to promote good …show more content…
health. The writer details his interview with Dr. Richard J. Jackson, a UCLA scientist, and an outstanding figure in urban design improvement for good public health. According to Carlson, Dr. Jackson claims that the major threat to public health is how America was built. He describes the threat as arising from contaminated water, cars and trucks, lead poisoning, stressful living conditions, no access to fresh food, causing conditions like asthma, depression, obesity, and heart problems. From these conditions coupled with long commutes to interest areas, Dr. Jackson argues that even though treatments are provided in the form of pills and shots, the real solutions have far reaching implications. The writer also indicates that selfish for profit practices contribute to unhealthy conditions. He concludes that it would not be easy implementing Dr. Jackson’s ideas due to the car-dependency of the American landscape.
Analysis
However, from the writer’s concerns about poor urban designs, nothing is contributed to nature itself where things seem to be happening around available resources like industries, and factories built closer to raw materials and the springing of urban development around these facilities.
Nothing is also mentioned about the public contribution to urban development. Actually, in real life, better living areas are where well-to-do people live and the rest is up to availability of funds. In the article, a reference to John Norguist, and advocate for walkable and transit-oriented cities, has him saying that “urbanism has often been sold on aesthetic or energy-efficiency rationales,” which to me, translates to the neglect in public health and humanity. From the above commentary, the article should have shown percent comparison of their findings to that of other health hazard to really influence developers and policy makers. Dr. Jackson is a scientist who is not basing his claims on science but intuition, and thus, was attacked by interest groups like The National Association of Home Builders, indicating his article had no foundations scientifically, along with some members of the congress. I believe Dr. Jackson’s assertions are true but the world is designed this way from the beginning and no one saw it early enough to make changes. In conclusion, this article and Dr. Jackson’s publications have increased public awareness and other researchers are confirming his assertions, linking
urban design to the threat of good health.
References
Carlson, Scott. “America’s Health Threat: Poor Urban Design.” 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2013 from The Chronicle of Higher Education website: http://chronicle.com/article/A-Scientist-Pushes-Urban/130404/.
Fatima Diaby
Professor Pier A. Broadnax
University of the District of Columbia College
October 4, 2013
America’s Health Threat: Poor Urban Design
By Scott Carlson, The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 22, 2012.
Summary
Scott Carlson in this article “America’s Health Threat: Poor Urban Design” published in the Chronicle of Higher Education Website (January 22, 2012), talks about the link between poor urban area design and public health threat. It takes into account the economic and political effects for the poor design, then, suggests a restructuring of urban areas to include assessable facilities and walking paths to promote good …show more content…
health. The writer details his interview with Dr. Richard J. Jackson, a UCLA scientist, and an outstanding figure in urban design improvement for good public health. According to Carlson, Dr. Jackson claims that the major threat to public health is how America was built. He describes the threat as arising from contaminated water, cars and trucks, lead poisoning, stressful living conditions, no access to fresh food, causing conditions like asthma, depression, obesity, and heart problems. From these conditions coupled with long commutes to interest areas, Dr. Jackson argues that even though treatments are provided in the form of pills and shots, the real solutions have far reaching implications. The writer also indicates that selfish for profit practices contribute to unhealthy conditions. He concludes that it would not be easy implementing Dr. Jackson’s ideas due to the car-dependency of the American landscape.
Analysis
However, from the writer’s concerns about poor urban designs, nothing is contributed to nature itself where things seem to be happening around available resources like industries, and factories built closer to raw materials and the springing of urban development around these facilities.
Nothing is also mentioned about the public contribution to urban development. Actually, in real life, better living areas are where well-to-do people live and the rest is up to availability of funds. In the article, a reference to John Norguist, and advocate for walkable and transit-oriented cities, has him saying that “urbanism has often been sold on aesthetic or energy-efficiency rationales,” which to me, translates to the neglect in public health and humanity. From the above commentary, the article should have shown percent comparison of their findings to that of other health hazard to really influence developers and policy makers. Dr. Jackson is a scientist who is not basing his claims on science but intuition, and thus, was attacked by interest groups like The National Association of Home Builders, indicating his article had no foundations scientifically, along with some members of the congress. I believe Dr. Jackson’s assertions are true but the world is designed this way from the beginning and no one saw it early enough to make changes. In conclusion, this article and Dr. Jackson’s publications have increased public awareness and other researchers are confirming his assertions, linking
urban design to the threat of good health.
References
Carlson, Scott. “America’s Health Threat: Poor Urban Design.” 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2013 from The Chronicle of Higher Education website: http://chronicle.com/article/A-Scientist-Pushes-Urban/130404/.