Anita Patil - Urban Design & Health of the City

More documents

Recommendations

Info

esponse time of the emergencyambulances and fire services is very long,leading to lower survival rates. (Campbellet al. 1993,) 19 , In Mumbai, there is nofacility for a special ambulance lane andno traffic system existent for making wayfor an ambulance. (personal observations).Access to schools,community places and parks arealso important for communitycohesions and physical activities.2. Access to adequate housingThe link between health andhousing has been known for centuries.Vast body of literature has explored theconnections between housing and healthimpacts. (Thomson, Petticrew 2002). 20Most of the major cities in theworld have been facing the constantcrisis of lack of affordable housingfor the urban poor and increasinghealth inequities created by thelack of shelter in the urban poor.The Health Evidence Network,Europe produced a report in Feb. 2005‘Is Housing Improvements apotential health improvement strategy?’The summery of that reportssays- “The well-established links betweenpoor health, poor housing and povertysuggest that housing improvements indisadvantaged areas or social housingmay provide a population-based strategyto improve health and reduce healthinequalities. Housing improvements thatreduce exposure to specific hazardsmay lead to health improvements forcurrent residents and prevent harmfulexposure by future generations”Smith’s study in 1989 21delineated specific health conditions thatarise from poor housing structures, anarea deeply related to urban design:Each of these factorscan be addressed by changing thestructural design even within therestrains of the costs, material andland use by creative means.The world Health Organizationhas identified nine critical featuresof housing conditions that canhave direct impact on health.1. The house as structure that protectsoccupants from natural elements likeheat, cold, rains flood, pests, noise, etc.2. The extent to which thereis adequate water supply, bothquantitative and qualitative3. The effectiveness of the provision forexcreta, sewage and solid waste disposaland management of that disposal4. The quality of housing site, theextent to which it is structurally safefor the housing and the extent towhich provision is made to protectit from contamination.(provision fordrainage being the most important)5. Effects associated with overcrowdingincluding household accidents, increasedamount of air‐born infectious diseasesincluding pneumonia and TB.6. Indoor air pollution associated withfuels used for cooking and heating7. Food safety including the extent towhich the shelter had adequate provision8. Vectors and hosts of other diseasesassociated with the domestic andperidomestic environment.9. Home as a workplace‐ whereoccupational health questions suchKaula Bandar: Anunregistered slumin Mumbai- Lack ofwater, sanitation &garbage disposal:- PUKAR-HSPH-NYU Project.Housing DefectsInadequate heatingInadequate ventilationLack of Hygiene FacilityInadequate kitchen facilityDisrepairStructural instabilityInadequate lightingUse of hazardous materialsOvercrowdingInadequate means of escapesource: UN-HABITAT, Global Urban Observatory 2004.Health RisksBronchitis, PneumoniaHeart disease, hypothermia,Accidents, Dampness with growth of mouldsRespiratory diseases, CO poisingInfectious diseasesAccidents, food poisoningAccidents, Fires, InfectionsAccidentsAccidentsCancer and respiratory diseasesInfections, stress, Intra‐family violenceInjury or death by fireKaula Bandar: Anunregistered slumin Mumbai- homeas a work place11 child labourers workingand living - PUKAR-HSPH-NYU Project126 / 04 health04 / 127
Provision of toiletsby socio-economicgroup, BangaloreSource: (SinclairKnight Merz and EgisConsulting 2002)as storage of toxic or hazardouschemicals and health safety aspects ofequipment used needs consideration.A critical component of housingthat has one of the largest impact onhealth, especially morbidity and mortalityin children under five years is access tobasic sanitation and water. Only 17 % ofurban poor have individual toilets at home.In Kaula Bandar, an unregisteredslum in Mumbai where PUKAR has beenresearching on social determinants ofurban health we found that only 3.0%of households had access to a toilet intheir home. Of the 97.0% of householdsnot having a toilet facility in their home,households made recourse to a varietyof methods, including defecating ina pay toilet (59.0%), in a public toilet(39.6%), and outside in the openalongside the sea (13.7%). Given thesensitive nature of the question, it isprobable that households underreporteddefecation in the open “wherever ahiding space can be found” (0.6%)and in the open alongside the sea. 22An urban planning strategy thatfacilitates access to clean water, toiletscan reduce prevalence and minimizethe impact of water born diseases. Itis estimated that providing adequatesanitation and water can reduce thediarrhea morbidity up to 46%.While talking about urban slumsof kinetic city of Mumbai Professor RahulMehrotra, Chair of the department ofUrban Planning and Design at HarvardGraduate School of Design says:“Perhaps the only standardthat should be applied for the evolutionof these settlements are laws andinfrastructure interventions that dealwith HEALTH & SANITATION, and notdeal with the form of the housesor dwelling unite per se” (www.timeoutmumbai.net, October 15, 2010)There is plethora of literature,elucidating association between lackof toilets, lack of adequate waterand diarrheal diseases. In developingcountries, in an average two weekperiod, an estimated 82 million childrenaged 0-5 years old have diarrheaand estimated 24,000 children dieEACH DAY due to diarrheal illnessthat are related to lack of access towater and sanitation. (WHO 2008) 23The following diagramshows the prevalence of diarrhealin various parts of the world.3. Safe Living Environment:The nature of urban planningleading to creating urban environmenthas major impact on the health throughbehaviour modifications and safety. Urbandesign has an important role to play interms of physical activity, accessibilityto open spaces, wailkability around theneighbourhoods, and availability of easyfast foods, connectivity and finally safety.When talking about safety, it revolvesaround many issues again related tourban form and design. Safety on theroads for the pedestrians and elderly,children’s safety on the playgrounds,safety from violence and abuse forwomen, occupational safety and safetyfrom natural and man-made disasters.Road traffic accidents lead to 1.2 milliondeaths in the world annually and 50million more are injured or disabled.(WHO,2002) 25 In India, road traffic accidentsare almost always underreported and anaddition to the pedestrians, the pavementdwellers often are the easiest victimsof road injuries in city like Mumbai.4. Physical Activity:Well thought‐out urban planningand design certainly has the potentialto reduce the health impacts of newlife style enhanced by the urbanizationprocesses, increased physical activityand in doing so lead to increased socialcohesion and community gatherings.Two most famous examples ofthis spatial and distributive justice areCurtiba in Brazil and Bogota in Columbia.Bogata’s visionary mayor Enrique Penlosaexecuted one of the most ambitionsplan of reducing the private automobiletraffic, expanding and improving byclespaths, increasing the easy accessibilityof affordable bus rapid transit system(TransMilenio) and increase the opnepublic spaces for people to connect.Bogata’s TransMilenio systems averages1600 passengers per day by bus,reducing travelling time by 32%, reducinggas emission by 40% and decreasingaccidents by 90%. The CicloRuta, thebicycle path of Bogata is one of theChildhood Diarrhea : Howthe world looks 24128 / 04health 05 / 129
Page 1 and 2: Aim of Urban DesignUrban planning,
Page 3: Urban Design & Health“The urban s
Page 7: Pakistan that has looked at these b

Anita Patil - Urban Design & Health of the City

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?