Disease by Design

Metropolis Magazine published an interview with public health advocate Richard Jackson earlier this month that at least a few of you will probably find interesting.  Jackson argues that the way we’re designing and building our cities is the source of our increasingly chronic health problems.  Much of the emphasis seems to be on urban sprawl, but I see the the redevelopment and redesign of Tacoma’s as equally relevant. 

If that poor woman had collapsed from heat stroke, we docs would have written the cause of death as heat stroke and not lack of trees and public transportation, poor urban form, and heat-island effects. If she had been killed by a truck going by, the cause of death would have been ‘motor-vehicle trauma,’ and not lack of sidewalks and transit, poor urban ­ planning, and failed political leadership.

It’s an interesting read as many of us begin to focus more and more energy on the future of our city.  As we make choices about parking, public transportation, walkable neighborhoods, and density, are we considering the long term implications of these choices on our citizens? 

Link to Metropolis Magazine