Build Better Neighborhoods
(Page 2 of 4)
August/September 2004
By Dave Wann
Improving Our Health
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According to Richard Jackson, former director of the National Center for Environmental Health, “The diseases of the 21st century will be chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, asthma and depression that steal vitality and productivity, and consume time and money. These diseases can be moderated by how we design, build and maintain our human environment.”
Physical activity helps maintain our health in many ways. In fact, it’s as effective as prescription drugs for treating mild cases of anxiety and depression, Jackson says. And it’s much easier to be physically active if our neighborhoods are safe to walk in, with stores, parks and other destinations within easy traveling distance by foot or bike.
Physical features of suburban neighborhoods also directly affect the social health of their residents. For example, the average number of friends a person has within his or her neighborhood correlates with the speed and volume of street traffic. Sociologist Donald Appleyard discovered that on a street with light traffic — 2,000 vehicles a day — residents had about 10 friends and acquaintances in the neighborhood, as compared to a street with heavy traffic — 16,000 vehicles a day — where residents had only four acquaintances, including 0.9 friends. And what kind of a friend is that?
Doctors tell us one of the most important factors in maintaining our health is a strong sense of community. In the book The Power of Clan, authors Dr. Stewart Wolf and John Bruhn analyze a multi-decade study of Roseto, a small town in eastern Pennsylvania, where resident longevity is legendary and, at the time of the study, heart disease rates were well below the national average. Wolf and Bruhn attribute the town’s remarkable health to three-generation bonding in families, neighborliness, devoted churchgoing and membership in social organizations.
It seems that to have a high quality of life, we need to exchange support and admiration with other people. According to anthropologist Margaret Mead, for 99 percent of human history, we’ve lived in clans of 12 to 36 people. We’re hard-wired to stick together.
Designing Superbia
By working together, neighbors create a support group that can help individuals challenge the unsustainable practices embedded in our everyday lives. Below are just a few of the many possibilities for community cooperation: (For more ideas, see Pages 48 and 49.)
