Health and the built environment

Abstract

Richard Horton's Offline piece (July 14, p 94)1Horton R Offline: An ignominious defeat.Lancet. 2012; 380: 94Summary Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (1) Google Scholar was a sad account of architects ignoring one of their most fundamental principles: form follows function. The function of a building in its most basic sense is to shelter people from the outdoors. As we learn more about the human psyche and the effect of cities and buildings on health, we are becoming more sophisticated in our approach to designing shelter and cities.The impact of architecture goes beyond buildings to reach the built environment, where the role of planners and urban designers becomes significant. There is growing recognition of the important role these professions play in planning healthy cities. The layout of streets, proximity to parks, and provision of footpaths and cycling networks are a selection of design factors affecting health.There is plenty of evidence to support design of the built environment while considering health. Planners and architects have been doing it for millennia. Going back to the Etruscans, sewage systems were planned below streets rather than buildings to avoid contaminating living areas. More recently, suburbs and garden cities were created to escape the polluted air and grim living conditions of industrial cities.The architects at the event Horton attended seem to have forgotten the background and purpose of their profession. But I believe they represent a small proportion of built environment professionals. There is growing recognition of the need for architecture to address health that is based on solid evidence from public health and built environment disciplines.The opinions expressed in this letter are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of BRE Global. I declare that I have no conflicts of interest. Richard Horton's Offline piece (July 14, p 94)1Horton R Offline: An ignominious defeat.Lancet. 2012; 380: 94Summary Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (1) Google Scholar was a sad account of architects ignoring one of their most fundamental principles: form follows function. The function of a building in its most basic sense is to shelter people from the outdoors. As we learn more about the human psyche and the effect of cities and buildings on health, we are becoming more sophisticated in our approach to designing shelter and cities. The impact of architecture goes beyond buildings to reach the built environment, where the role of planners and urban designers becomes significant. There is growing recognition of the important role these professions play in planning healthy cities. The layout of streets, proximity to parks, and provision of footpaths and cycling networks are a selection of design factors affecting health. There is plenty of evidence to support design of the built environment while considering health. Planners and architects have been doing it for millennia. Going back to the Etruscans, sewage systems were planned below streets rather than buildings to avoid contaminating living areas. More recently, suburbs and garden cities were created to escape the polluted air and grim living conditions of industrial cities. The architects at the event Horton attended seem to have forgotten the background and purpose of their profession. But I believe they represent a small proportion of built environment professionals. There is growing recognition of the need for architecture to address health that is based on solid evidence from public health and built environment disciplines. The opinions expressed in this letter are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of BRE Global. I declare that I have no conflicts of interest.