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Sustainable Built Environments for Health and Wellbeing
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Sustainable Built Environments for Health and Wellbeing

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2019) | Viewed by 15886

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Tim G. Townshend

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape; Newcastle University; Newcastle, United Kingdom
Interests: urban design; therapeutic landscapes; green-blue infrastructure; health and well-being
Dr. Stephanie Wilkie

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Sunderland, Sunderland, United Kingdom
Interests: environmental psychology; urban green space; health and wellbeing; place-related identity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last two decades, there has been increasing interest in examining the ways in which built environments directly impact our health and well-being, and, moreover, support or constrain healthy lifestyle choices. For example, the built environment can negatively affect people’s physical health though issues such as air pollution, or can enhance it through initiatives that promote physical activities such as walking or cycling. Growing evidence also supports the linkages between built environment factors, such as noise or sensory overload, and reduced wellbeing; alternatively, urban design research has emphasized the beneficial qualities of green (and blue) spaces to mitigate these consequences and enhance mental health and wellbeing.

Yet, despite an increasing research base, knowledge gaps still exist and evidence from varied disciplines can be disparate and contradictory. The aim of this Special Issue is to explore the impact of sustainable built environments on the health and wellbeing of citizens. Papers that address the previously inconsistent findings on specific health or wellbeing outcomes in the context of different models of “sustainable” built environments, and/or explore these issues from a range of disciplines, including social sciences, humanities, and design perspectives, are encouraged. We would be particularly pleased to receive inter-disciplinary contributions.

Prof. Tim G. Townshend
Dr. Stephanie Wilkie
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable
  • built environment
  • urban green space
  • urban blue space
  • physical health
  • wellbeing
  • mental health

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1553 KiB  
Article
Study on the Impact of the Objective Characteristics and Subjective Perception of the Built Environment on Residents’ Physical Activities in Fuzhou, China
by Lizhen Zhao, Zhenjiang Shen, Yanji Zhang and Fubin Sheng
Sustainability 2020, 12(1), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12010329 - 31 Dec 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3487
Abstract
Many researchers have confirmed a correlation between the built environment and physical activity. However, most studies are based on the objective characteristics of the built environment, and seldom involve the residents’ subjective perception. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship [...] Read more.
Many researchers have confirmed a correlation between the built environment and physical activity. However, most studies are based on the objective characteristics of the built environment, and seldom involve the residents’ subjective perception. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the subjective and objective characteristics of the built environment and physical activity at the community scale. Data consists of that collected from a social survey, Points of Interest (POI), the road network, and land use in Fuzhou, China. The duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) within a week is used to represent the general physical activity of residents. Security perception is introduced as an intermediary variable. SPSS software is used for factor analysis and Amos software for statistical analysis. Structural equations are set up to analyse the relationship between these variables. The final results show that: (1) The objective characteristics of the built environment have no direct impact on the development of leisure MVPA, but it can indirectly affect leisure MVPA through residents’ subjective perception of the built environment; (2) The subjective perception of residents has a significant impact on the duration of MVPA, the subjective perception of humanized space has a direct impact on the duration of MVPA, and destination accessibility and urban environment maintenance has an indirect impact through community public security perception; and (3) The individuals’ attributes such as gender and self-evaluated socioeconomic status have negative effects on the duration of leisure MVPA, and an individual’s love of sports has a positive effect on MVPA. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Built Environments for Health and Wellbeing)
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28 pages, 4666 KiB  
Article
A Spatial Distribution Equilibrium Evaluation of Health Service Resources at Community Grid Scale in Yichang, China
by Jingyuan Chen, Yuqi Bai, Pei Zhang, Jingyuan Qiu, Yichun Hu, Tianhao Wang, Chengzhong Xu and Peng Gong
Sustainability 2020, 12(1), 52; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12010052 - 19 Dec 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3467
Abstract
Whether the supplies of health services and related facilities meet the demand is a critical issue when developing healthy cities. The importance of health services and related facilities in public health promotion has been adequately proved. However, since the community population and resource [...] Read more.
Whether the supplies of health services and related facilities meet the demand is a critical issue when developing healthy cities. The importance of health services and related facilities in public health promotion has been adequately proved. However, since the community population and resource data are usually available at the scale of an administrative region; it is very difficult to perform further fine-scaled spatial distribution equilibrium evaluation studies. Such kinds of activities are highly expected for precise urban planning and management. Yichang is located in Hubei province, the central part of China, along the Yangzi River. It is leading both of China’s smart cities demonstration project and China’s healthy cities pilot project. Yichang has defined 1271 community grids for urban management and service, where each grid consists of 200 households generally with its population distribution data routinely updated. The research set the 15-min walking distances of the residents as impedance factors, and the numbers and the types of health service resources as attractiveness factors for accessibility evaluation. The resource ratio, richness and per capita number of various health service resources that can be reached within 15 min from the community grid building is used as spatial distribution equilibrium evaluation indicators. The entropy weight method is used to assign the indicator weight value. The obtained fine-scale evaluation results were analyzed. In this way, a community grid-scale spatial distribution equilibrium evaluation of health service resources in Yichang was performed. The proposed research could be of value for rapid and precise evaluation of spatial distribution equilibrium evaluation of a variety of healthy city resources, to support healthy city planning and management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Built Environments for Health and Wellbeing)
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18 pages, 4857 KiB  
Article
Study on Environment Regulation of Residential in Severe Cold Area of China in Winter: Base on Outdoor Thermal Comfort of the Elderly
by Hong Jin, Bo Wang and Bingbing Han
Sustainability 2019, 11(22), 6509; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11226509 - 19 Nov 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3409
Abstract
Overwhelming evidence shows that the harsh climate conditions are affecting urban residents who are living in severe cold areas of China in winter, particularly affecting the frequency and length of outdoor space usage of the elderly. This study aims (1) to establish the [...] Read more.
Overwhelming evidence shows that the harsh climate conditions are affecting urban residents who are living in severe cold areas of China in winter, particularly affecting the frequency and length of outdoor space usage of the elderly. This study aims (1) to establish the modified model which is suitable for the harsh climate region, (2) to verify whether the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) index can be evaluated for the outdoor thermal comfort of older adults in severe cold areas of China in winter, (3) to draw the thermal comfort map that is based on the former conclusions. In this study, the outdoor environments in typical residential areas for the elderly of Changchun, China, has been investigated by using field measurement, questionnaire survey, and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation. The results show that the wind direction is the important aspects of model modification and quite possibly one of the most neglected. In addition, it is convenient to evaluate outdoor thermal comfort of the elderly on the basis of the PET index and the neutral PET temperature of elderly people who live in severe cold areas of China in winter is −0.5 degrees Celsius. According to the thermal comfort map, the park green land of urban residential is the best area for the elderly. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Built Environments for Health and Wellbeing)
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20 pages, 5343 KiB  
Article
Urban Regeneration Process: The Case of a Residential Complex in a Suburb of Rome, Italy
by Alessandra Battisti, Asia Barnocchi and Silvia Iorio
Sustainability 2019, 11(21), 6122; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11216122 - 3 Nov 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4950
Abstract
With the aim of promoting biological, social and psychological well-being, a multi-institutional and multidisciplinary action-research process was developed for the regeneration of a large residential complex in Rome, Italy. A methodology with a community-based approach was adopted in a context where spatial segregation [...] Read more.
With the aim of promoting biological, social and psychological well-being, a multi-institutional and multidisciplinary action-research process was developed for the regeneration of a large residential complex in Rome, Italy. A methodology with a community-based approach was adopted in a context where spatial segregation is intertwined with health and social inequalities. Methods: Through qualitative-quantitative analysis involving the active participation of the local population and institutions in every stage, an integrated survey model was developed in order to create proper communication between the needs of the population and sustainable solutions. Results: the implemented process allowed for clear planning of actions and interventions that could be economically sustainable through the structuring and development of a local network. Conclusions: the process involving the participation of the population in the analysis of their own problems and difficulties, as well as in the development of possible interventions and actions to be proposed, appears to be the only adequate approach that allows for the definition of mutual objectives based on the real needs of the end users. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Built Environments for Health and Wellbeing)
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