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Public Health and the Built Environment: Historical, Empirical, and Theoretical Foundations for an Expanded Role

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Wendy C. Perdue ,
Lawrence O. Gostin  and
Lesley A. Stone
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Extract

In 2000, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Environmental Health issued a report that explored some of the ways in which “sprawl” impacts public health. The report has generated great interest, and state health officials are beginning to discuss the relationship between land use and public health. The CDC report has also produced a backlash. For example, the Southern California Building Industry Association labeled the report “a ludicrous sham” and argued that the CDC should stick to “fighting physical diseases, not defending political ones.”

In retrospect, it is probably unfortunate that this report was funded by an organization called “Sprawl Watch.” “Spraw” is a word that has no clear meaning but is applied to a huge range of issues involving suburban development.

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Article
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , Winter 2003 , pp. 557 - 566
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2003

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