Foreword
This article is the final in a series of articles based on new research on the location of low-income and disadvantaged families in compact cities.
We are increasingly living in densely populated cities where apartments and high-rise developments are becoming more common. This poses special health problems for residents of these areas, especially low-income families. We already know that socioeconomic conditions are closely related to health and well-being. The importance of fairness was emphasized in the 2016 Boyer speech. The lecture entitled “Australian Equity: Social Justice and Health Divide” was conducted by Professor Michael Mammut, a leader in the World Health Inequality Study.
Groundhog studies the challenges faced by poor communities from early to advanced health. His message focuses on the social determinants of health. The most important of these is the built environment, including its environmental background. This is useful in the health map of human settlements below. Health maps show the determinants of the health and well-being of the communities around us.
How does architecture affect health?
Many urban planners are working with health professionals to create an architectural environment that promotes the health of different populations. More and more research and practical evidence can be used to support this work.
We know that the neighborhoods in which people live and their workplaces and the transportation systems connected to them are critical to health and well-being. We also recognize that health and well-being barriers are higher for low-income people. For example, those who live away from good urban infrastructure and services (usually poorer communities) face greater challenges to stay healthy.
Residents in the outer suburbs often have longer distances between their homes, their jobs and the services they need every day. Round-trip must be the default setting for the car, which has a serious long-term impact on health. Especially sitting in a narrow space for a long time, resulting in insufficient exercise every day. Coach commuting is also very tiring and often stressful. Exhausted home makes you spend the good times with your family and friends, as well as the energy you need to prepare a nutritious meal. These are all negative factors in maintaining good physical and mental health.
High-rise life and health
The city of Denser is seen as a solution to these problems – as density increases, high-rise buildings and apartment life follow. So the question is: How does a high-density built environment affect our health?
The first thing to consider is the location of the tall buildings. Site selection of high-rise residential areas on busy and polluted roads has problems with health. If poorer communities are located in less comfortable areas due to lower housing costs, they can exacerbate their health problems. While the initial cost of an individual’s own home may be lower, the long-term loss of a health budget associated with respiratory disease needs to be taken into account.
Another key issue is architectural design and construction. Poor design and building standards may mean that neighboring apartment residents are affected by neighbor noise. This can lead to lack of sleep, stress and anxiety (and in extreme cases, neighbor conflicts and violence). These are risk factors for mental health problems and are associated with poor physical health. For example, lack of sleep is associated with obesity, which is a risk factor for many chronic diseases.
It doesn’t stop there – continuous building maintenance and management is critical. If the management is not good, the original development will not maintain this state. For example, security may complicate convenient access between floors and prevent the use of stairs, which is a good way to do some casual physical activity; you can close the meeting room to avoid party noise or community group confusion. And garden space may be contracted out, depriving residents of the benefits of growing and harvesting their own food.
Green open space is good for us
There is no lack of evidence of how important it is for health and well-being to have access to quality green open spaces. When designing high-density residential areas, priority should be given to different types of green spaces, which can be easily used by everyone regardless of the income of everyone.
Our recently published research explores how communities can support community health. Our findings provide insight into key elements of a health support environment: free (or low-cost) infrastructure for activities such as walking and cycling is important, and ongoing maintenance and safe and direct routes to nearby destinations are also very important. Important; affordable spaces, community-led social groups (sewing, cooking) are essential to help social interaction (with little or no cost) to avoid loneliness and loneliness.
All residents can enjoy free, accessible, quality and well-maintained public spaces; residents should have affordable, healthy local food stores, and community food box programs are an important step for low-income people; and need to consider aging And the impact of using public facilities – our interviewees talk about fragility, which makes it harder for them to go out and enjoy physical exercise and social connections. Research participants living in high-rise apartments are concerned about increased residential density and reduced comfort. The issues they mentioned included daylight/daylight use, privacy and mutual/overlooking environments as well as dust and gravel that affected the balcony.
Is everyone fair?
This is a good question for the health and well-being of poor communities in high-rise housing. All of the issues mentioned above may pose challenges to maintaining daily health. Many are not targeted at income, but low-income people are less able to cope with these challenges.
High-density life is increasingly referred to as “health.” However, this lifestyle poses a significant health risk without a support infrastructure based on an understanding of specific geographic environments and community needs. Blind pursuit of unity, an intensive urban agenda can only exacerbate and exacerbate health inequalities.
Https://theconversation.com/whats-equity-got-to-do-with-health-in-a-higher-density-city-82071