HEALTHY

CITIES
MEANS
HEALTHY
YOU

By Haley Williams

10
SEPTEMBER 2015 | ISSUE 05

Debi Farber Bush is a resident of Eureka, CA.

Thanks to biking, she lost 100lbs, and overall
improved her life.
You, too could improve our life in a similar
way as Debi.
Eating healthy, using alternative
transportation such as biking will help you
achieve a healthy lifestyle, and a better quality
of life. Making our cities healthy will help
improve everyones quality of life, as well as
decrease pollution and make the planet
healthier.

What are
Healthy
Cities?

Healthycitiesarecitiesthataimto
createhealthsupportive
environment,achievegoodqualityof
life,improvebasicsanitationand
hygieneneeds,andsupplyaccessto
healthcare.beinghealthycity
dependsoncommitmenttoimprove
citysenviron&willingnesstoforge
necessaryconnectionsinpolitical,
economic,andsocialarenas(World
HealthOrganization).

We need healthy cities to improve the overall health of individua

Diseasecanbecontrolledthroughabetterandmoremanagedseweragesystem,
garbagecollection,rodentcontrol,andmosquitoabatement.
Illnessescanbepreventedthroughproperlighting,ventilation,andminimizing
exposuretoasbestosandlead.Anexampleofanillnessthatwouldbepreventedis
SeasonalAffectiveDisorder(SAD).
Accidentscanbereducedthroughaforgivingenvironment.Havingaforgiving
environmentwillmakeissaferforpeopletowalkonthesidewalks,ridebikes,and
drivecars,andasaferenvironmentwillprovidemoreprotectionforthepeople.

Leadfromgasolinecontributestopollution,soareducedrelianceoncarswould
helpmaketheworldhealthier.Theworldsfirstmotorwayisanalternativeto
usingcarsandothergasconsumingvehiclesforlongdistancetraveling,along
withmorebikeusageforshorterdistances.Improvinghomedesignwillalso
preventindoorpollution
Betterhousingdesignswillassistthequalityofourcitiesandthequalityoflifein
thepeoplelivingthere.Housingshouldsuittheneedsoftheindividual,families,
andalargerworldcommunity.Withtheneglectofspecificneedsofindividuals
comeslonelinessandisolation.Urbanizationandindustrializationdecrease
likelihoodofsupportivesocialrelationships,whichisunhealthyforpeopleand
economy.
Healthycitieswouldcreateasafe
place,maintaincleanenvironment,
andmixeduseenvironmentAway
ofkeepingpublicplacessafer
wouldbetomakesurepublic
areasvisibleoverlongdistances,
andavoidhavingalleywaysand
otherisolatedareas.Avoiding
havingdimlylitorcompletelydark
areasinthenighttimewouldalso
increasethesafetyofthegeneral
public.
(Duhl&Sanchez1999).

We need healthy cities to

improve the overall health
of individuals, communities,
and the Earth. A healthy
city would useful for disease
control, illness prevention,
accident reduction, safety,
pollution, and
housing/fragmentation.

Wouldnt it be nice if farms didnt take up

acres upon acres of land and didnt
degradate and pollute the soil? Well
there is a solution:

VERTICAL
FARMING

Verticalfarmsarebasically
buildingswithmultiplestories
thatcontainfarmsoneach
floor.Itisalsoafastgrowing
trendinfoodproduction,and
allowsfoodsecurityandextra
income.Verticalfarmingisan
indoorfarmingthatspurpose
istomaximizeproduction.This
isasolutionfortightfood
supplyinpoor/developing
countriesandtheincreasein
foodprices(FAO2008).This
styleoffarmingoftenuses
hydroponic,aquaponic,and
aeroponicgrowtech,avoiding
soil.Thisstyleisonlyinits
infancy,andcanbefindin
threestorytowers,
warehouses,androoftops
(Bromfield2015).Finally,
Acutefoodshortagesin36
countriesandunequal
access/distributionoffoodis
causingthenewvertical/urban
farmingtrends(FAO2008).
Urbanverticalfarmingwould
resultinagreenerenvironment
giventhatwewouldbeusing
buildingsinsteadoftheearthto
farm.Urbanverticalfarming
willhelpstarvation,reduce
poverty,andreduceprotests
dedicatedtothese.Urban
verticalfarmingwillfight
increasingfoodprices,and
affecttrade&foodaid(FAO
2008).

Therearefourmainhealthbenefitstovertical
farming.Fresherfood,anincreasedurban
availabilityinherentwithverticalfarms,
pollutionreductionairpollutionisamajor
environmentalhealthrisk,andaccountsfor3.7
millionprematuredeathworldwideperyear.Poor
aircausesstrokes,heartdiseases,lungcancer,
andchronicandacuterespiratorydiseases.,
andverticalfarmsalsoavoidchemicals.
Chemicals,orpesticides,arepotentially
dangerous.Unstudiedchemicalreactionstake
placebetweenthesehighlyvolatilecompounds.
Theyhaveacumulativetoxicloadingeffect,
everyonesbodyprocessesandgetsridofthem
indifferentwaysandspeed.Pesticidescanstay
inbodyforyears,andhaveunstudiedeffectson
infantshealthwhileinthewomb(Bromfield
2015).

Alternate Transport
Greenertransportationwouldrefertohybridcars,trams,orbicycles.Highenergy
prices,agreenmovement,thefitnesscraze,trafficcongestion,oilconsumption,
pollution,andobesityarecausingthechange/needforchangefromcarsand
othervehiclestobicycles(Scherer2013).Byusingbicycles,wewouldreducethe
amountofpollutionthatcomesfromcars,therewouldbemorespaceforpeople
totraveldownroads,wewouldusemuchlessoil,andwewouldbemuchmorefit
ashumans.Bicyclesareusedaroundtheworldforeverydaytravel.Dutchuse
bicyclesas26%oftheirtravel,theDanes:19%,theGermans:10%,andfinally,
theUS:only1%(Scherer2013).Agoalforhealthiercities,andanoverall
healthierearthwouldbetostartusingmorebicyclesinsteadofcarsorother
vehiclesthatemitpollutants.
Bikingwillhelpimproveapersonshealth.Forexample,DebiFarberBushof
Eureka,Californialost100lbsthankstotravelingbybicycle.Obesityfatalities
wentto677inDecemberof2011from786in2005(Scherer,2013).Obesityis
becomingabiggerandbiggerprobleminmodernsociety,andusingbikesas
transportationinsteadofcarsisadefinitesolution.

Forbiking,theCA"sustainablecommunities"
lawstatesthatcitiesneedreduce
greenhousegasesoutputrelatedtotravel
(Scherer2013).Thisencourageslessuseof
motorvehiclesandwillhopefullyincreasethe
amountofbikers.In2013,18citieshavenew
bikesharingprograms(Scherer2013),which
makesitmoreconvenienttousebikes
aroundthecity.TheSFMTAwantsbikesto
make20%oftripsby2020(Scherer2013).In
NewYork,there6,000rentalbikes.Asa
replacementforbikes,tricyclesareavailable
fortheelderly(Scherer2013).

Greenbuildingsrefertobuildingsthatarebuilt
toconserveenergy,usesolarpower,have
saferappliances,andmoreusesthanjust
ThissavestheUS$614billion
housing.
peryear(Deneen&Howard
TheUSputoutofgreenhousegases,and
2007).Thisalsocausesafaster
manyarecontractingillnessesfromthe
recoveryfromillness,whichwill
uncleanair.Thissparkedaneedforachange
helppeoplewithweakimmune
inourenergyconsumptionandpollutionin/from systemsandyoungkidsDeneen
ourhomesandbuildings(Deneen&Howard
&Howard2007).LivingHomes
2007).Americansspend90%timeinside
hassoldLEED(leadershipin
(Deneen&Howard2007).Asthma&allergy
energyandenvironmental
attacksaretriggeredbypollen,whichis25x
design)prefabricatedhomes
higherinsidethanoutsideDeneen&Howard
nationwidetohelpstartmaking
2007).WilliamFisk,headoftheIndoor
greenbuildingsamorecommon
EnvironmentDepartmentatLawrenceBerkeley thing(Deneen&Howard2007).
NationalLaboratory,improvedventilation,
Thesebuildingsincludesafer
whichreducesrespiratoryillnessesby920% appliances,anexamplewouldbe
(Deneen&Howard2007).
awaterradiatorthatisnothotto
thetouch,soitissafeforkids
(Deneen&Howard2007).Green
communitiesarebeingbuilt;they
arelowincomehousing,and
thereare8,500+in23states
(Deneen&Howard2007).
Agreenbuildingwoulduse65%
ofthepreviouslyusedelectricity,
12%consumedwater,and40%
oftherawmaterials(Deneen
2007).Thebuildingswouldalso
usethesinkandshowerwaterto
irrigatethelandaroundit,which
willfurtherhelpsavewaterontop
ofusinglesswateroverall.

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r
e
e
n

WathaT.Daniel/ShawLibrary

B
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Solutions

Currentsolutionsinclude
promotinghealthylifestyles,
omotingaccesstogoodquality
housing,providingmore
employmentopportunities,
promotingsafetyandsenseof
security,andensuringgood
waterquality.
Everyoneneedstoputforth
efforttomakehealthycities
possible,anditcouldbe
anythingthatwillgivesupport.
Wecouldstartbuildingmore
recreationfacilitiestogive
eoplemoreaccesstoexercise
orgiveparentsaplacetobring
theirkidssothattheyaren't
oopedupinthehouseallday.
Usinggreenbuildingtechniques
inplaceslikeschoolsand
hospitalswouldhelpbymaking
surethattheplacesweshould
besafeinaresafeforthe
environmentaswell.Also
insteadoftakingmedicineto
olveaproblemeasilysolvable
byalifestylechange,change
yourlifestyle!Makingyourlife
etterdependsonyoutakingthe
stepstowardabetter,longer,
andhappierlife.

In Conclusion...
Inconclusion,healthycitiesarevitalin
makingourplanetandourliveshealthy.
Improvingtheenvironmentsweliveinis
thefirststeptowardsanimprovedquality
oflife.Withusinggreenbuildings,vertical
farming,andbicycletransportation,weare
abletoreducethepollutionsweexpel,
utilizeourresourcesinthebestwayswe
can,andbetterourpersonalhealth.
Throughthese,wearerevolutionizingthe
waywelive,andtakingmoreandmore
stepstowardsallofourcitiesbeing
healthy.Livingincomfortandhavingthe
luxurieswehavehascomeataprice,that
pricebeingpollution,obesityandother
sometimesfatalillnesses,andmore.Now
itistimetomaketheplanetsgreener,
whilestillgettingtheluxurieswecurrently
have,andwewilldefinetlydeserveforour
greenefforts;itwilltakefulleffortfrom
everyonetomakeourcitieshealthyandto
makeourplanethealthierforusall.

Refrences
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[Bikesharingstation].Retrievedfrom
http://thecityfix.com/files/2010/10/cyclehire.jpg
Bromfield,E.(2015).HowVerticalFarmingCanMakeYouaBetterEater.Retrievedfrom
http://www.sustainablecitiescollective.com/evanbromfield/1069076/howverticalfarmingcanmakeyou
bettereater
Deneen,S.&Howard,B.(2007).BuildingsthatBreathe.Retrievedfrom
http://sks.sirs.com/cgibin/hstarticledisplay?
id=SCA422207547&artno=0000260225&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=greener%
20transportation&title=Buildings%20That%20Breathe&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N
FAO.(2008).HealthyCityHarvests.Retrievedfrom
http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/FCIT/PDF/healthy_city_harvestes.pdf.
[GreenBuildings].Retrievedfrom
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dingsmobility.jpg
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[Peoplewalkinginthepark].Retrievedfrom
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[Polkadottedtrees].Retrievedfrom
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[Skyscraperfarm].Retrievedfrom
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[VerticalFarmwithU.S.Flag].Retrievedfrom
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