Health Promotion, Public Health, and Built Environment

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2021) | Viewed by 26223

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1QU, UK
Interests: Health Inequalities; Public Health;Built Environment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Health is affected by the built environment in a range of different ways. This includes access to green space, fresh food, secure housing, safe transport, and decent jobs. The UN has emphasised the interconnection between health and the built environment in their Sustainable Development Goals by outlining that health promotion efforts can contribute by making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (SDG 11).

The growing knowledge of the role of the built environments on health and wellbeing is underscored by the origins of urban planning and public health as a joint discipline. Health promotion further underscores the need to promote health and prevent disease through interventions, programmes and designs that must tackle the causes of ill health across multiple levels and contexts. Therefore, the built environment does offer opportunities to establish healthy, equitable and resilient communities. 

Despite such knowledge, the built environment stills negatively affects the health of inhabitants and the health of disadvantaged people even more so. For this Special Issue on “Health Promotion, Public Health, and Built Environment”, we invite you to submit practical, theoretical or speculative papers that seek to explore the many and varied affects the built environment has on health and wellbeing for all. We seek diverse examples drawn from across towns, cities, regions and countries throughout the world. We would like to know what works, where and for whom.

Dr. Andrew Barnfield
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • design
  • health
  • housing
  • planning
  • prevention
  • promotion
  • urban
  • transport

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 787 KiB  
Article
Gender Equality and E-Scooters: Mind the Gap! A Statistical Analysis of the Sicily Region, Italy
by Tiziana Campisi, Anastasios Skoufas, Alexandros Kaltsidis and Socrates Basbas
Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(10), 403; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10100403 - 19 Oct 2021
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4709
Abstract
Mobility since 2000 has undergone enormous changes due to new modes of transport and related technologies as well as catastrophic and pandemic events. Several strategies have been implemented by European states to mitigate impacts and assess possible risks in a preventive way. Today, [...] Read more.
Mobility since 2000 has undergone enormous changes due to new modes of transport and related technologies as well as catastrophic and pandemic events. Several strategies have been implemented by European states to mitigate impacts and assess possible risks in a preventive way. Today, mobility pursues the objectives of sustainability and resilience through a series of short-, medium- and long-term strategies that encourage the collaboration of the population to the choices of urban planning and design. Among the different modes of transport that have had a rise in recent years are scooters. Such modes are well suited to connecting spaces within the first and last mile. Similar to other modes of transportation, scooters are also characterized to date by reduced gender equity. The present work investigates through the administration of an online survey the participants’ perceptions concerning the factors that most affect this gender balance considering the metropolitan areas of Catania and Palermo in Sicily. The development of an ordinal regression model revealed the most influential factors of the gender equality variable. Specifically, age, job occupation and perceived safety level of micromobility modes play the most important role. The present findings can be effectively utilized in the planning stage of e-scooter services towards the bridging of the gender gap. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Promotion, Public Health, and Built Environment)
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12 pages, 263 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Role of the Workplace in Experiences of Commuter Stress: A Mixed-Method Study from Sofia, Bulgaria
by Anna Plyushteva
Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(6), 208; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10060208 - 1 Jun 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3926
Abstract
Several studies have argued that the effects of commuter stress spill into other domains of everyday life, including the workplace. However, the entanglements between commuter stress and the workplace are complex and multidirectional. Commuter stresses both shapes and is shaped by managerial policies, [...] Read more.
Several studies have argued that the effects of commuter stress spill into other domains of everyday life, including the workplace. However, the entanglements between commuter stress and the workplace are complex and multidirectional. Commuter stresses both shapes and is shaped by managerial policies, workplace social relations, and the negotiations of working schedules. The present paper explores these interconnections. Drawing on a survey of 281 office-based employees in 27 companies in Sofia, Bulgaria, the paper demonstrates how the characteristics of individuals and individual journeys are important in shaping commuter stress but not exclusively so. In examining the significance of the workplace in relation to commuter stress, the paper differentiates between the geographical location of the workplace and the employing organisation, thus offering a granular understanding of spatial (e.g., the quality of the public spaces surrounding the office) and organisational (e.g., managerial decisions regarding parking) factors. The paper highlights the social and spatial constraints within which commutes are carried out, thus emphasising the role of employers and local government in what is often understood in terms of individual travel choices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Promotion, Public Health, and Built Environment)
21 pages, 3170 KiB  
Article
Grounded Theory as an Approach for Exploring the Effect of Cultural Memory on Psychosocial Well-Being in Historic Urban Landscapes
by Fatmaelzahraa Hussein, John Stephens and Reena Tiwari
Soc. Sci. 2020, 9(12), 219; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci9120219 - 27 Nov 2020
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 6912
Abstract
Although grounded theory (GT) has emerged as a popular research approach across multiple areas of social science, it has been less widely taken up by researchers working in the fields of urban planning and design. The application of GT enables uniquely innovative insights [...] Read more.
Although grounded theory (GT) has emerged as a popular research approach across multiple areas of social science, it has been less widely taken up by researchers working in the fields of urban planning and design. The application of GT enables uniquely innovative insights to be gained from qualitative data, but it has attracted criticism and brings its own challenges. This paper proposes a methodology that could be applied by other researchers in the field of urban research. Utilising constructivist GT as a qualitative approach, this research investigates how cultural memory impacts the psychosocial well-being and quality of life (QoL) of users of, and visitors to, historic urban landscapes (HULs). Based on the findings, it can be posited that the application of GT yields a rich and nuanced understanding of how users of HULs experience the settings in which they live, and the impact and significance on human psychosocial well-being of the cultural memories incarnated within such settings. The current paper also contends that GT enables researchers studying the built environment to construct inductively based theories. Lastly, the practical implications of developing GT for application to HUL management are discussed, both in regard to how users experience the contexts in which they live and the impact of such contexts on well-being and quality of life. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Promotion, Public Health, and Built Environment)
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14 pages, 2537 KiB  
Article
A Socio-Spatial Approach to Enable Inclusive Well-Being in Cities: A Case Study of Birmingham, UK
by Lakshmi P. Rajendran, Christopher T. Boyko, Claire J. Coulton, James D. Hale and Rachel F. D. Cooper
Soc. Sci. 2020, 9(6), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci9060109 - 23 Jun 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6463
Abstract
This article examines density and deprivation, the two important parameters that define health and well-being in cities. Discussions are drawn from a case study conducted in Birmingham in four neighborhoods characterized by their different population density and deprivation levels. Data were collected through [...] Read more.
This article examines density and deprivation, the two important parameters that define health and well-being in cities. Discussions are drawn from a case study conducted in Birmingham in four neighborhoods characterized by their different population density and deprivation levels. Data were collected through questionnaires developed from a set of subjective well-being measures and built environment audits, based on the Irvine Minnesota Inventory that evaluates the quality of streets and walkability in neighborhoods. The inferences from the study support the need for linking health, planning, policy and design research and decision-making to the socio-spatial practices of people, impacting well-being at the everyday level. The findings provide a holistic approach health and well-being research and suggests a conceptual framework for inclusive well-being in cities, which signifies the role of social and spatial parameters in determining peoples’ health and well-being. The study also highlights the lack of interdisciplinary research in understanding the association between well-being and social and behavioral practices in diverse communities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Promotion, Public Health, and Built Environment)
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11 pages, 271 KiB  
Article
‘The Feel of the Stones, Sounds of Cars, the Different Smells’: How Incorporating the Senses Can Help Support Equitable Health Promotion
by Andrew Barnfield
Soc. Sci. 2020, 9(6), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci9060108 - 23 Jun 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3184
Abstract
There has been limited consideration to the role of the senses in health promotion regardless of the prominence placed on corporeality in intervention and prevention strategies. Touch as a form of sense-making challenges the representational approaches that characterize health promotion methods to increase [...] Read more.
There has been limited consideration to the role of the senses in health promotion regardless of the prominence placed on corporeality in intervention and prevention strategies. Touch as a form of sense-making challenges the representational approaches that characterize health promotion methods to increase participation in physical activity. This paper explores recreational running practices through the sense of touch and is drawn from an in-depth qualitative research project with recreational runners in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The project examined how recreational running was established and maintained within the city. This paper concludes that there is potential for health promotion to adopt a more open stance towards the study of sensual experiences of the built environment. Insights from approaches attentive to the senses hold promise for agendas and interventions in health promotion practice and intervention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Promotion, Public Health, and Built Environment)
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