September 19, 2003—The American Journal of Health Promotion and the American Journal of Public Health are devoting their September issues to an examination of how community design and the built environment affect health. One of the findings in the former, for instance, says that people who live in more sprawling areas generally weigh more and are more likely to have high blood pressure.
For the study, “Relationship Between Urban Sprawl and Physical Activity, Obesity, and Morbidity,” researchers used Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data to look at health characteristics of more than two hundred thousand individuals living in 448 US counties in major metropolitan areas. The researchers assessed the degree of sprawl in each county using US Census and other federal data. The study shows that people living in the most sprawling counties are likely to weigh six pounds more than people in the most compact county. It also finds that people in sprawling areas walk less.
Another sprawl study from the American Journal of Public Health, “Conventional Development Versus Managed Growth: The Costs of Sprawl,” found that sprawl (defined as conventional development) comes at significant cost to human and natural resources. Sprawl produces a 21 percent increase in amount of land developed and approximately a 10 percent increase in local road lane-miles when compared with smart growth (managed development). Furthermore, sprawl causes about 10 percent more annual public service deficits and 8 percent higher housing occupancy costs.
