Living With Urban Environmental Health Risks

Living With Urban Environmental Health Risks
Author: Girma Kebbede
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2017-11-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1351153625

Although it still has a low urban population when compared with the rest of the world, Ethiopia nevertheless has been experiencing one of the most rapid urbanization processes of recent years. This rapid urban growth, however, has not been accompanied by a commensurate increase in basic infrastructure and amenities that are essential for a healthy urban environment. Housing, water supply, sanitation services, drainage, transport networks and health services have not been able to keep pace with the prevailing urban growth rates, resulting in a deterioration of urban living conditions and increasingly serious health problems. Living With Urban Environmental Health Risks examines the extent and nature of environmental problems in urban areas in Ethiopia and their impact on health. The book points to the economic and political causes that underlie many of the urban problems in the country. This in-depth analysis suggests ways to deal with these problems at community, municipal, and national levels.

Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change Adaptation in Urban Areas

Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change Adaptation in Urban Areas
Author: Nadja Kabisch
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2017-09-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3319560913

This open access book brings together research findings and experiences from science, policy and practice to highlight and debate the importance of nature-based solutions to climate change adaptation in urban areas. Emphasis is given to the potential of nature-based approaches to create multiple-benefits for society. The expert contributions present recommendations for creating synergies between ongoing policy processes, scientific programmes and practical implementation of climate change and nature conservation measures in global urban areas. Except where otherwise noted, this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Urban Health Issues

Urban Health Issues
Author: Richard V. Crume
Publisher: Greenwood
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019-04-10
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1440861714

Living in an urban environment can have a major influence—both positive and negative—on one's physical health and mental well-being. This book examines more than 20 key issues related to city living and what's being done to address them. According to recent statistics, 80.7 percent of Americans live in urban areas, and more than half of the world's population lives in cities. From various types of pollution to crime to overcrowding, the urban environment can have massive impacts on our physical, psychological, and social health and well-being. Moreover, while certain aspects of living in a city, such as access to health care, can improve the lives of many, other factors can have detrimental effects and can lead to inequalities along racial and socioeconomic lines. Urban Health Issues: Exploring the Impacts of Big-City Living examines 23 key issues related to urban health, exploring their causes and consequences in depth and highlighting what cities and individuals can do to safeguard the well-being of urban residents. It also draws comparisons between cities in the United States and the industrialized world and those in poor and developing nations, providing important global insights. The material is brought to life by fascinating city case studies and illuminating interviews with experts working in a variety of fields.

Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change

Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change
Author: Melissa R. Marselle
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 494
Release: 2019-06-11
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3030023184

This open access book identifies and discusses biodiversity’s contribution to physical, mental and spiritual health and wellbeing. Furthermore, the book identifies the implications of this relationship for nature conservation, public health, landscape architecture and urban planning – and considers the opportunities of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation. This transdisciplinary book will attract a wide audience interested in biodiversity, ecology, resource management, public health, psychology, urban planning, and landscape architecture. The emphasis is on multiple human health benefits from biodiversity - in particular with respect to the increasing challenge of climate change. This makes the book unique to other books that focus either on biodiversity and physical health or natural environments and mental wellbeing. The book is written as a definitive ‘go-to’ book for those who are new to the field of biodiversity and health.

U.S. Health in International Perspective

U.S. Health in International Perspective
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 421
Release: 2013-04-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309264146

The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

Globalisation, Migration and Health

Globalisation, Migration and Health
Author: Andre M. N. Renzaho
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 609
Release: 2016
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1783268891

"As globalisation gains momentum, international migration continues to divide opinion and polarise policy makers, politicians, and advocates. This polarisation has been reflected in research and publications, with pro-globalisation being pitched against anti-globalisation on the one hand, and an explosion of research on migration on the other. This book examines the interaction between the two and their impact on health for the first time, highlighting the myths and realities from an international, multi-disciplinary perspective. The book starts with an examination of the complex and multifaceted aspects of the globalisation phenomenon and its impact on population displacement and health, and concludes with a regional level analysis supported by country-specific examples. By highlighting common issues and differences across the globe, this book shows policy makers, political leaders, and international committees on migration the specificities of global migration and good practice across the world. Particular attention is paid to practical policy responses and governance as well as legal frameworks to manage the dynamics of migration, engage international institutions, and to maximise the benefits that internal and international migration bring."--

Urban Sprawl and Public Health

Urban Sprawl and Public Health
Author: Howard Frumkin
Publisher:
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2004-07-09
Genre: Medical
ISBN:

'Urban Sprawl and Public Health' offers a survey of the impact that the built environment can have on the health of the people who inhabit our cities. The authors go on to suggest ways in which the design of cities could be improved & have a positive impact on the well-being of their citizens.

Rebuilding the Unity of Health and the Environment in Rural America

Rebuilding the Unity of Health and the Environment in Rural America
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2006-02-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309180570

Throughout much of its history, the United States was predominantly a rural society. The need to provide sustenance resulted in many people settling in areas where food could be raised for their families. Over the past century, however, a quiet shift from a rural to an urban society occurred, such that by 1920, for the first time, more members of our society lived in urban regions than in rural ones. This was made possible by changing agricultural practices. No longer must individuals raise their own food, and the number of person-hours and acreage required to produce food has steadily been decreasing because of technological advances, according to Roundtable member James Merchant of the University of Iowa. The Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Environmental Health Science, Research, and Medicine held a regional workshop at the University of Iowa on November 29 and 30, 2004, to look at rural environmental health issues. Iowa, with its expanse of rural land area, growing agribusiness, aging population, and increasing immigrant population, provided an opportunity to explore environmental health in a region of the country that is not as densely populated. As many workshop participants agreed, the shifting agricultural practices as the country progresses from family operations to large-scale corporate farms will have impacts on environmental health. This report describes and summarizes the participants' presentations to the Roundtable members and the discussions that the members had with the presenters and participants at the workshop.

Climate Change and Cities

Climate Change and Cities
Author: Cynthia Rosenzweig
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2011-04-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1139497405

Urban areas are home to over half the world's people and are at the forefront of the climate change issue. The need for a global research effort to establish the current understanding of climate change adaptation and mitigation at the city level is urgent. To meet this goal a coalition of international researchers - the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN) - was formed at the time of the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in New York in 2007. This book is the First UCCRN Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities. The authors are all international experts from a diverse range of cities with varying socio-economic conditions, from both the developing and developed world. It is invaluable for mayors, city officials and policymakers; urban sustainability officers and urban planners; and researchers, professors and advanced students.

WHO Housing and Health Guidelines

WHO Housing and Health Guidelines
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 149
Release: 2018
Genre:
ISBN: 9789241550376

Improved housing conditions can save lives, prevent disease, increase quality of life, reduce poverty, and help mitigate climate change. Housing is becoming increasingly important to health in light of urban growth, ageing populations and climate change. The WHO Housing and health guidelines bring together the most recent evidence to provide practical recommendations to reduce the health burden due to unsafe and substandard housing. Based on newly commissioned systematic reviews, the guidelines provide recommendations relevant to inadequate living space (crowding), low and high indoor temperatures, injury hazards in the home, and accessibility of housing for people with functional impairments. In addition, the guidelines identify and summarize existing WHO guidelines and recommendations related to housing, with respect to water quality, air quality, neighbourhood noise, asbestos, lead, tobacco smoke and radon. The guidelines take a comprehensive, intersectoral perspective on the issue of housing and health and highlight co-benefits of interventions addressing several risk factors at the same time. The WHO Housing and health guidelines aim at informing housing policies and regulations at the national, regional and local level and are further relevant in the daily activities of implementing actors who are directly involved in the construction, maintenance and demolition of housing in ways that influence human health and safety. The guidelines therefore emphasize the importance of collaboration between the health and other sectors and joint efforts across all government levels to promote healthy housing. The guidelines' implementation at country-level will in particular contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals on health (SDG 3) and sustainable cities (SDG 11). WHO will support Member States in adapting the guidelines to national contexts and priorities to ensure safe and healthy housing for all.