Architecture and public health: from harmful designs to healthy built environments
Architectural health research could help us create happier and healthier built environments, writes Cleo Valentine Over half of the world’s population lives in urban areas1; the United Nations projects this to increase to nearly two thirds by 2050,1 but many urban environments fail to support or actively harm public health.23456 The effects of the built environment on public health and wellbeing may be more substantial than previously understood.7 Those responsible for our built environment—architects, real estate developers, and public authorities—must collaborate and consider health more closely. Medical experts and public health officials should be routinely involved in the design process, and planning law and regulations should mandate health considerations in design and construction. By recognising that health encompasses complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing—not merely the absence of disease8—we can prioritise physical and mental health over purely economic consideratio
