Urban Sprawl and Public Health Annotation

As every college student knows, it is impossible to have a second to breathe, yet alone be able to sit down and read a book for pleasure.  Therefore, all of the reading I do is for one of my classes.  But every once in a while, a teacher will ask their students to read something that changes the way people look at the world and sparks something inside of them;  an undeniable urge that grows stronger with time and creates advocates for a specific cause or helps dictate a career path. My inspiration for this blog stems from the book Urban Sprawl and Public Health, which has completely transformed the way I see the urban landscape today and view planning issues. 

Would you believe that sprawl is one of the leading factors contributing to the poor air quality in Los Angeles?  Los Angeles’ major downfall is its “sprawled-out” nature that developed our automobile-dependent and suburban seclusion mindsets.  Without a car, you might as well be stranded because there is no way to get around by foot safely in LA suburbs (I suppose you could always share the road with the cars and parade down the middle of the street, but that sort of thing doesn’t tickle my fancy).  Has anyone heard of sidewalks?  Literally, I have been forced to walk on horse trails, woodchips, and plants (I still feel bad about this one!), which all could have been avoided with a few slabs of concrete.  What about a decent public transportation route that doesn’t just run 2 or 3 times a day, but actually has a routine schedule that actually drops you off near your location and doesn’t force you to walk over a mile?  It all has to deal with privacy and trying to keep other people out of their secluded, exclusive areas that feel these added elements will be aesthetically unpleasing.  (I am sorry about my little rant; now let’s go back on topic.)

The mix of sprawl and our automobile driven mentality in society has resulted in numerous health concerns such as obesity, lung cancer, asthma and even death.  Frank and Jackson educate their readers about the origins of urban sprawl and explain the causes of air pollution in great scientific detail as well as other urban problems such as water quality, mental health, and physical activity.  Demographics, social economic status, gender and age are all taken into account in the various studies referenced in the book.   But Frank and Jackson conclude the book with the idea of smart growth with is supposed to act as the solution to many of these health problems.  By utilizing better transportation modes and mix-use planning, which are the basic ideas of smart growth, a healthier living environment for all will develop.    

All you have to do is read pages 22-25 to figure out what chapters might be of interest to you.  Each chapter has a conclusion at the end, which summarizes the main points of the chapter and makes it easy to find valuable studies and information.  Urban Sprawl and Public Health is a great research tool especially for topics like air pollution, land-use, transportation, water quality, sprawl, health concerns associated with these topics and many more.  Frank and Jackson force their readers to see these issues in a new light, while still providing an immense amount of detail, making it a valuable educational guide and reference tool.  Whether you are writing a research paper or want to learn more about the health effects of sprawl, I recommend reading this book or at least skimming the conclusions at the end of each chapter because I have used this information numerous times in conversations or class discussions throughout the last 2 years. 

Works Cited:

Frumkin, H., Frank, L. D., & Jackson, R. (2004). Urban sprawl and public health: designing, planning, and building for healthy communities. Island Press.

Fru