A New Movement Based on Old Ideas

Abstract

This chapter traces the history of select endeavors that focused on place-based changes as a mechanism to improve the health, safety, and well-being of urban residents. Unfortunately, these endeavors evolved in silos, with urban planners and public-health and criminal-justice practitioners working largely in isolation from one another. The successes and limited uptake of these isolated endeavors are brought to light as the chapter looks at how they were overshadowed by individually focused therapies and interventions. Many people probably think that good science is already inherently involved when a place gets altered or a development gets built; this is perhaps the case with respect to the physical science of certain placemaking endeavors. However, the health and biological impacts of buildings and larger developments are very often left out, or only modestly considered as part of environmental or health-impact assessments. As such, there is a need to invigorate a new movement that connects social scientists, planners, and policy makers. Indeed, the best placemaking occurs when it is supported by empirical evaluation of its impacts on humans with the active involvement of scientists.