Glenn Parsons and Allen Carlson
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199205240
- eISBN:
- 9780191709296
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199205240.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
This book studies the relationship between function and aesthetic value, breaking with the philosophical tradition of seeing the two as separate. It begins by developing and defending, in a general ...
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This book studies the relationship between function and aesthetic value, breaking with the philosophical tradition of seeing the two as separate. It begins by developing and defending, in a general way, the concept of Functional Beauty, exploring how the role of function in aesthetic appreciation has been treated by some notable thinkers in the history of aesthetics. It then considers the relationship to Functional Beauty of certain views in current aesthetic thought, especially what is called ‘cognitively rich’ approaches to the aesthetic appreciation of both art and nature. Turning to work on the nature of function in the philosophy of science, it argues that this line of enquiry can help solve certain philosophical problems that have been raised for the idea that knowledge of function plays an important role in aesthetic appreciation. Although philosophical discussions of aesthetic appreciation tend to focus largely and sometimes almost exclusively on artworks, the range of aesthetic appreciation is, of course, much larger. Not simply art, but also nature, architecture, and even more mundane, everyday things — cars, tools, clothing, furniture, and sports — are objects of frequent and enthusiastic aesthetic appreciation. Accordingly, the second half of the book considers the place and importance of Functional Beauty in the aesthetic appreciation of a broad range of different kinds of things. The final chapters explore Functional Beauty in nature and the natural environment, in architecture and the built environment, in everyday artefacts, events, and activities, and finally in art and the artworld. In each case, the book argues that Functional Beauty illuminates our aesthetic experiences and helps to address various theoretical issues raised by these different objects of appreciation.Less
This book studies the relationship between function and aesthetic value, breaking with the philosophical tradition of seeing the two as separate. It begins by developing and defending, in a general way, the concept of Functional Beauty, exploring how the role of function in aesthetic appreciation has been treated by some notable thinkers in the history of aesthetics. It then considers the relationship to Functional Beauty of certain views in current aesthetic thought, especially what is called ‘cognitively rich’ approaches to the aesthetic appreciation of both art and nature. Turning to work on the nature of function in the philosophy of science, it argues that this line of enquiry can help solve certain philosophical problems that have been raised for the idea that knowledge of function plays an important role in aesthetic appreciation. Although philosophical discussions of aesthetic appreciation tend to focus largely and sometimes almost exclusively on artworks, the range of aesthetic appreciation is, of course, much larger. Not simply art, but also nature, architecture, and even more mundane, everyday things — cars, tools, clothing, furniture, and sports — are objects of frequent and enthusiastic aesthetic appreciation. Accordingly, the second half of the book considers the place and importance of Functional Beauty in the aesthetic appreciation of a broad range of different kinds of things. The final chapters explore Functional Beauty in nature and the natural environment, in architecture and the built environment, in everyday artefacts, events, and activities, and finally in art and the artworld. In each case, the book argues that Functional Beauty illuminates our aesthetic experiences and helps to address various theoretical issues raised by these different objects of appreciation.
Zayde Antrim
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199913879
- eISBN:
- 9780199980178
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199913879.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter focuses on the textual strategy of describing the urban built environment. By engaging the visual imagination, this strategy stimulated the recognition of a “cityscape” distinctive from ...
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This chapter focuses on the textual strategy of describing the urban built environment. By engaging the visual imagination, this strategy stimulated the recognition of a “cityscape” distinctive from other landscapes in the discourse of place. Describing or depicting the built environment was intended to make cities legible, or comprehensible in terms of their written or graphic representation, and thus to make them compelling as categories of belonging for people whether or not they had firsthand experience of the city. Central to a city’s legibility was often the evocation of a monumental structure, one that dominated the cityscape because of its great size, lavish adornment, powerful patrons, or ritual function. This chapter considers contrasting claims to “insider” and “citational” authority in describing urban built environments and analyzes a variety of texts, including images and poems.Less
This chapter focuses on the textual strategy of describing the urban built environment. By engaging the visual imagination, this strategy stimulated the recognition of a “cityscape” distinctive from other landscapes in the discourse of place. Describing or depicting the built environment was intended to make cities legible, or comprehensible in terms of their written or graphic representation, and thus to make them compelling as categories of belonging for people whether or not they had firsthand experience of the city. Central to a city’s legibility was often the evocation of a monumental structure, one that dominated the cityscape because of its great size, lavish adornment, powerful patrons, or ritual function. This chapter considers contrasting claims to “insider” and “citational” authority in describing urban built environments and analyzes a variety of texts, including images and poems.
Yuriko Saito
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199278350
- eISBN:
- 9780191707001
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199278350.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
This chapter argues for the need for everyday aesthetics for pragmatic reasons by taking the environmental ramifications of our everyday aesthetic tastes and decisions as an example. We make ...
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This chapter argues for the need for everyday aesthetics for pragmatic reasons by taking the environmental ramifications of our everyday aesthetic tastes and decisions as an example. We make aesthetic judgments, positive or negative, on natural creatures, landscapes, built environments, and consumer goods, which determine our attitude and subsequent actions regarding them. The consequences of such judgments and actions are often environmentally unsound, though we are seldom aware of them. In addition to raising consciousness about the environmental impact of our actions, our everyday aesthetics must be guided toward environmentally sound ends because of the power of our aesthetic judgments to influence, and sometimes determine, our actions. By reviewing an example of utilizing the power of the aesthetic toward a social agenda, such as 19th-century American landscape aesthetics promotion of national identity and pride, the specific tenets of green aesthetics, as well as strategies to avoid, are outlined.Less
This chapter argues for the need for everyday aesthetics for pragmatic reasons by taking the environmental ramifications of our everyday aesthetic tastes and decisions as an example. We make aesthetic judgments, positive or negative, on natural creatures, landscapes, built environments, and consumer goods, which determine our attitude and subsequent actions regarding them. The consequences of such judgments and actions are often environmentally unsound, though we are seldom aware of them. In addition to raising consciousness about the environmental impact of our actions, our everyday aesthetics must be guided toward environmentally sound ends because of the power of our aesthetic judgments to influence, and sometimes determine, our actions. By reviewing an example of utilizing the power of the aesthetic toward a social agenda, such as 19th-century American landscape aesthetics promotion of national identity and pride, the specific tenets of green aesthetics, as well as strategies to avoid, are outlined.
Tim G. Townshend
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199571512
- eISBN:
- 9780191595097
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199571512.003.0020
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
Urban planning — the process by which built environments are shaped and managed — aims to balance social, economic, and environmental concerns and needs. Public health was once central to this ...
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Urban planning — the process by which built environments are shaped and managed — aims to balance social, economic, and environmental concerns and needs. Public health was once central to this dynamic. However, in the decades following de-industrialization in developed countries, it became eclipsed by the exigencies of economic regeneration, and renewal and health were considered only in relation to issues such as pollution and contaminated land. Over the past two decades, however, there has been an increasing awareness that urban planning needs to re-engage with broader issues of health. Indeed, there have been suggestions that there is evidence to implicate the built environment as a factor in the obesity epidemic. This chapter explores those aspects of the obesity crisis on which planning and transportation policies may have a direct influence. It examines international research but mainly looks at how planning might respond from a British perspective. It is hoped, however, that the principles and policies discussed can be translated to other planning systems and structures.Less
Urban planning — the process by which built environments are shaped and managed — aims to balance social, economic, and environmental concerns and needs. Public health was once central to this dynamic. However, in the decades following de-industrialization in developed countries, it became eclipsed by the exigencies of economic regeneration, and renewal and health were considered only in relation to issues such as pollution and contaminated land. Over the past two decades, however, there has been an increasing awareness that urban planning needs to re-engage with broader issues of health. Indeed, there have been suggestions that there is evidence to implicate the built environment as a factor in the obesity epidemic. This chapter explores those aspects of the obesity crisis on which planning and transportation policies may have a direct influence. It examines international research but mainly looks at how planning might respond from a British perspective. It is hoped, however, that the principles and policies discussed can be translated to other planning systems and structures.
Mark R. Wynn
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199560387
- eISBN:
- 9780191721175
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199560387.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter continues the discussion of Chapter 6, by examining the human significance of a number of built and natural environments, unrelated to pilgrimage practice. Again, the three models of the ...
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This chapter continues the discussion of Chapter 6, by examining the human significance of a number of built and natural environments, unrelated to pilgrimage practice. Again, the three models of the differentiated religious significance of place and the various accounts of the formal qualities of knowledge of place developed in earlier chapters are put to use. The chapter draws on the literature on the phenomenology of sacred space, and the work of Wendell Berry, Erazim Kohák, and Christopher Day, among others. It maintains that religiously significant knowledge of place is not to be understood in purely ‘subjective’ or in purely ‘objective’ terms, and that we should avoid an over-sharp distinction between the meaning of ‘sacred’ and of ‘profane’ space.Less
This chapter continues the discussion of Chapter 6, by examining the human significance of a number of built and natural environments, unrelated to pilgrimage practice. Again, the three models of the differentiated religious significance of place and the various accounts of the formal qualities of knowledge of place developed in earlier chapters are put to use. The chapter draws on the literature on the phenomenology of sacred space, and the work of Wendell Berry, Erazim Kohák, and Christopher Day, among others. It maintains that religiously significant knowledge of place is not to be understood in purely ‘subjective’ or in purely ‘objective’ terms, and that we should avoid an over-sharp distinction between the meaning of ‘sacred’ and of ‘profane’ space.
Lisa I. Iezzoni and Bonnie L. O'Day
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195172768
- eISBN:
- 9780199865710
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195172768.003.0016
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
The community environments within which people live have enormous consequences for their health. This chapter reaches beyond health care settings into communities to explore briefly those attributes ...
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The community environments within which people live have enormous consequences for their health. This chapter reaches beyond health care settings into communities to explore briefly those attributes that make communities safe and welcoming to persons with disabilities, and that allow all residents to participate fully in community life. It argues that demographic imperatives force the need for greater public policy focus on making accessible built environments. With an aging population and growing rates of obesity, along with declining rates of physical fitness, planners should emphasize building environments that support independent living and promote physical activity, healthy eating, and other positive health-related behaviors. Healthy built environments can improve not only physical health but also mental health, over the life span. The chapter briefly reviews examples from other countries of efforts to construct walkable communities and discusses challenges to bringing those changes to the United States.Less
The community environments within which people live have enormous consequences for their health. This chapter reaches beyond health care settings into communities to explore briefly those attributes that make communities safe and welcoming to persons with disabilities, and that allow all residents to participate fully in community life. It argues that demographic imperatives force the need for greater public policy focus on making accessible built environments. With an aging population and growing rates of obesity, along with declining rates of physical fitness, planners should emphasize building environments that support independent living and promote physical activity, healthy eating, and other positive health-related behaviors. Healthy built environments can improve not only physical health but also mental health, over the life span. The chapter briefly reviews examples from other countries of efforts to construct walkable communities and discusses challenges to bringing those changes to the United States.
Norman Wirzba
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195157161
- eISBN:
- 9780199835270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195157168.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Given the wholeness of membership that creation itself is, an environmentalism is proposed that does not take us out of nature but places us more responsibly within it. Practical suggestions are ...
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Given the wholeness of membership that creation itself is, an environmentalism is proposed that does not take us out of nature but places us more responsibly within it. Practical suggestions are offered that will strengthen our identities and vocations as creatures made by God to serve the well-being of the whole creation. Our challenge is to design communities and construct built environments that will reflect God’s justice and peace.Less
Given the wholeness of membership that creation itself is, an environmentalism is proposed that does not take us out of nature but places us more responsibly within it. Practical suggestions are offered that will strengthen our identities and vocations as creatures made by God to serve the well-being of the whole creation. Our challenge is to design communities and construct built environments that will reflect God’s justice and peace.
Pedro Gullón and Gina S. Lovasi
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- April 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190843496
- eISBN:
- 9780190843533
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190843496.003.0008
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
The “built environment” is comprised of human-made structures and systems, and aspects include access to and attractiveness of walkable destinations (e.g., retail stores, parks) and community design ...
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The “built environment” is comprised of human-made structures and systems, and aspects include access to and attractiveness of walkable destinations (e.g., retail stores, parks) and community design features (e.g., street connectivity, sidewalk access). A variety of built environment characteristics can influence health outcomes and behaviors, including physical activity, obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and mental health, as well as sleep and use of tobacco and alcohol. This chapter discusses the large and complex accumulated research on the built environment as well as the methods used to study it, research challenges, policy implication, and how to bring together partnerships for policy change. This chapter also discusses the research conducted across populations (e.g., children, low-income individuals) and geographies (e.g., urban and rural geographies).Less
The “built environment” is comprised of human-made structures and systems, and aspects include access to and attractiveness of walkable destinations (e.g., retail stores, parks) and community design features (e.g., street connectivity, sidewalk access). A variety of built environment characteristics can influence health outcomes and behaviors, including physical activity, obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and mental health, as well as sleep and use of tobacco and alcohol. This chapter discusses the large and complex accumulated research on the built environment as well as the methods used to study it, research challenges, policy implication, and how to bring together partnerships for policy change. This chapter also discusses the research conducted across populations (e.g., children, low-income individuals) and geographies (e.g., urban and rural geographies).
Rebecca L. Henn and Andrew J. Hoffman
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780262019415
- eISBN:
- 9780262315388
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262019415.003.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
The Introduction summarizes the topics covered in this book. This book examines recent shifts of building processes in reaction to concerns for environmental sustainability: what has been termed ...
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The Introduction summarizes the topics covered in this book. This book examines recent shifts of building processes in reaction to concerns for environmental sustainability: what has been termed “green building.” Attention to environmental harms created by our built environment, and more important, investigations into ways to minimize those harms, has led to extensive research aimed at altering building practices, technological systems, and economic parameters. This book expands on these investigations and applies a social science view to consider how green buildings require a shift in our intellectual and cultural loyalties and a reexamination of the ways that buildings alter our sense of ourselves and our relationship to the environment around us—both natural and man-made.Less
The Introduction summarizes the topics covered in this book. This book examines recent shifts of building processes in reaction to concerns for environmental sustainability: what has been termed “green building.” Attention to environmental harms created by our built environment, and more important, investigations into ways to minimize those harms, has led to extensive research aimed at altering building practices, technological systems, and economic parameters. This book expands on these investigations and applies a social science view to consider how green buildings require a shift in our intellectual and cultural loyalties and a reexamination of the ways that buildings alter our sense of ourselves and our relationship to the environment around us—both natural and man-made.
Robert Tittler
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207184
- eISBN:
- 9780191677540
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207184.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This chapter deals with the environment in which urban governments carried most of their business: the civic building, and especially the seat ...
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This chapter deals with the environment in which urban governments carried most of their business: the civic building, and especially the seat and symbol of local governments, the town hall. By defining a town hall as a civic-controlled building which served as the normal place of business for the governing authority of a town, it argues that one will find an increase in the number of towns running their own affairs. The connection between the acquisition of civic halls and the attainment of greater powers of self-government is evident in the substantial number of towns which built or acquired a hall within a few years of their incorporation. With increasing frequency towards the latter decades of the study, the hall reflects the growing force of a more vigorously oligarchic rule within the same sorts of towns.Less
This chapter deals with the environment in which urban governments carried most of their business: the civic building, and especially the seat and symbol of local governments, the town hall. By defining a town hall as a civic-controlled building which served as the normal place of business for the governing authority of a town, it argues that one will find an increase in the number of towns running their own affairs. The connection between the acquisition of civic halls and the attainment of greater powers of self-government is evident in the substantial number of towns which built or acquired a hall within a few years of their incorporation. With increasing frequency towards the latter decades of the study, the hall reflects the growing force of a more vigorously oligarchic rule within the same sorts of towns.
Steven Vogel
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262029100
- eISBN:
- 9780262326988
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262029100.003.0003
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
A familiar argument claims that we are alienated from nature in that we have lost our connection to it and so try to replace it with a humanized world. But if humans are natural such a replacement is ...
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A familiar argument claims that we are alienated from nature in that we have lost our connection to it and so try to replace it with a humanized world. But if humans are natural such a replacement is natural too, while if nature means the non-human then the alienation here is merely a matter of definition. But on Marx’s account, to be alienated from something is to fail to recognize it as something one has helped to produce; under alienation the objects built by human practice – both the particular commodities built by labor and the broader phenomena generated by the “invisible hand” -- appear as independent powers over and against human lives. In Marx’s sense we cannot be alienated from “nature,” but we can be (and are) alienated from the built environment – in that we don’t recognize its sociality and its builtness. The identification of “environment” with “nature” turns out itself to be a symptom of this alienation.Less
A familiar argument claims that we are alienated from nature in that we have lost our connection to it and so try to replace it with a humanized world. But if humans are natural such a replacement is natural too, while if nature means the non-human then the alienation here is merely a matter of definition. But on Marx’s account, to be alienated from something is to fail to recognize it as something one has helped to produce; under alienation the objects built by human practice – both the particular commodities built by labor and the broader phenomena generated by the “invisible hand” -- appear as independent powers over and against human lives. In Marx’s sense we cannot be alienated from “nature,” but we can be (and are) alienated from the built environment – in that we don’t recognize its sociality and its builtness. The identification of “environment” with “nature” turns out itself to be a symptom of this alienation.
Atiya Mahmood and Norah Keating
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9781847427731
- eISBN:
- 9781847427731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847427731.003.0009
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gerontology and Ageing
The built environment, encompassing people's homes and the immediate neighbourhoods and communities that surround the home, represents an important context for older people's inclusion or exclusion. ...
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The built environment, encompassing people's homes and the immediate neighbourhoods and communities that surround the home, represents an important context for older people's inclusion or exclusion. In this chapter, Atiya Mahmood and Norah Keating reflect on the centrality of place in the lives of older people. They conceptualise the built environment within the context of exclusion debates, focusing in particular on the ways in which the idea of 'ageing in place' is challenged by exclusion discourse. Several major policy and practice interventions that aim to enhance the built environment and thereby potentially reduce the risks of exclusion facing older people are reviewed. While universal design, visitability, and age-friendly city initiatives are judged to be valuable in addressing different dimensions of the physical environment, the chapter suggests that there is a role for research to review in more critical fashion the process and outcomes of such programmes.Less
The built environment, encompassing people's homes and the immediate neighbourhoods and communities that surround the home, represents an important context for older people's inclusion or exclusion. In this chapter, Atiya Mahmood and Norah Keating reflect on the centrality of place in the lives of older people. They conceptualise the built environment within the context of exclusion debates, focusing in particular on the ways in which the idea of 'ageing in place' is challenged by exclusion discourse. Several major policy and practice interventions that aim to enhance the built environment and thereby potentially reduce the risks of exclusion facing older people are reviewed. While universal design, visitability, and age-friendly city initiatives are judged to be valuable in addressing different dimensions of the physical environment, the chapter suggests that there is a role for research to review in more critical fashion the process and outcomes of such programmes.
Leonie Kellaher
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861342638
- eISBN:
- 9781447302582
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861342638.003.0010
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gerontology and Ageing
Lifetime Homes, universal and transgenerational design, along with extra-care housing and assisted living, appear to offer dwelling places sufficiently flexible and adaptable to support the everyday ...
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Lifetime Homes, universal and transgenerational design, along with extra-care housing and assisted living, appear to offer dwelling places sufficiently flexible and adaptable to support the everyday lives of older people. In this chapter, the author takes a critical view of the underpinning issue of whether it is possible to design a home for life. The discussion draws on a number of studies that have aimed to understand how older people relate to their built environments, whether these are ‘special’ or ‘ordinary’ domestic homes. Considering aspects of the home environment that older people appear to regard as essential, the author explores resistance to specially designed environments and asks whether and how the notion of lifetime homes can become more than an ideal.Less
Lifetime Homes, universal and transgenerational design, along with extra-care housing and assisted living, appear to offer dwelling places sufficiently flexible and adaptable to support the everyday lives of older people. In this chapter, the author takes a critical view of the underpinning issue of whether it is possible to design a home for life. The discussion draws on a number of studies that have aimed to understand how older people relate to their built environments, whether these are ‘special’ or ‘ordinary’ domestic homes. Considering aspects of the home environment that older people appear to regard as essential, the author explores resistance to specially designed environments and asks whether and how the notion of lifetime homes can become more than an ideal.
Jacquie Eales, Janice Keefe, and Norah Keating
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861349019
- eISBN:
- 9781447303299
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861349019.003.0011
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gerontology and Ageing
This chapter examines the age-friendly communities that can be found in the rural areas in Canada. The first section is on the ‘resources’ approach and the ‘best fit’ approach that are used to ...
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This chapter examines the age-friendly communities that can be found in the rural areas in Canada. The first section is on the ‘resources’ approach and the ‘best fit’ approach that are used to understand these age-friendly communities. It then examines the natural environment, the human-built environment, and the social environment, which all make rural communities more age-friendly for older people. The chapter concludes that the natural, human-built and social resources make a difference to whether rural settings are good places to grow old.Less
This chapter examines the age-friendly communities that can be found in the rural areas in Canada. The first section is on the ‘resources’ approach and the ‘best fit’ approach that are used to understand these age-friendly communities. It then examines the natural environment, the human-built environment, and the social environment, which all make rural communities more age-friendly for older people. The chapter concludes that the natural, human-built and social resources make a difference to whether rural settings are good places to grow old.
Melvin Delgado
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231160094
- eISBN:
- 9780231534253
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231160094.003.0006
- Subject:
- Social Work, Social Policy
This chapter examines how the lack of places and spaces for physical exercise contributes to the problem of obesity. Policies and community/neighborhood infrastructure play a significant role in the ...
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This chapter examines how the lack of places and spaces for physical exercise contributes to the problem of obesity. Policies and community/neighborhood infrastructure play a significant role in the prevalence of obesity. In particular, the physical environment can either promote or hinder activities that support health in low-income urban communities of color. In 2006, the Federal Collaboration on Health Disparities Research identified the built environment as a key contributor to health disparities. A social justice perspective provides a lens through which we can better understand the relationship between physical environments and health. The lack of exercise due to an inability or unwillingness to engage in physical activity must be considered in the development of interventions. This chapter looks at the role of the built environment and the obesogenic environment as factors in obesity. It also analyzes the importance of physical spaces in an urban context and how social forces can minimize physical exercise in marginalized urban communities.Less
This chapter examines how the lack of places and spaces for physical exercise contributes to the problem of obesity. Policies and community/neighborhood infrastructure play a significant role in the prevalence of obesity. In particular, the physical environment can either promote or hinder activities that support health in low-income urban communities of color. In 2006, the Federal Collaboration on Health Disparities Research identified the built environment as a key contributor to health disparities. A social justice perspective provides a lens through which we can better understand the relationship between physical environments and health. The lack of exercise due to an inability or unwillingness to engage in physical activity must be considered in the development of interventions. This chapter looks at the role of the built environment and the obesogenic environment as factors in obesity. It also analyzes the importance of physical spaces in an urban context and how social forces can minimize physical exercise in marginalized urban communities.
Richard J. Jackson
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- November 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190662677
- eISBN:
- 9780190662707
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190662677.003.0039
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
Air, water, and food environments profoundly influence health. Yet, many humans spend most of their time in “built environments”: the structures and places designed and built to surround human ...
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Air, water, and food environments profoundly influence health. Yet, many humans spend most of their time in “built environments”: the structures and places designed and built to surround human existence. These environments range from homes, schools, offices, industrial facilities, roadways, sidewalks, parks, and even vehicles. All of these environments can raise or limit risks to injuries; acute illnesses, such as asthma; and long- term disorders, such as obesity and diabetes. These environments shape economic, social, and psychological well-being—and ultimately planetary sustainability. Designing environments to promote physical activity, including walking, stair climbing, bicycling and other forms of active transportation, is a documented tool for public health improvement.Less
Air, water, and food environments profoundly influence health. Yet, many humans spend most of their time in “built environments”: the structures and places designed and built to surround human existence. These environments range from homes, schools, offices, industrial facilities, roadways, sidewalks, parks, and even vehicles. All of these environments can raise or limit risks to injuries; acute illnesses, such as asthma; and long- term disorders, such as obesity and diabetes. These environments shape economic, social, and psychological well-being—and ultimately planetary sustainability. Designing environments to promote physical activity, including walking, stair climbing, bicycling and other forms of active transportation, is a documented tool for public health improvement.
Domenic Vitiello
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801450112
- eISBN:
- 9780801469749
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801450112.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century
This chapter examines the Sellers family's diverse and often lasting impacts on the metropolitan built environment in the late nineteenth century. It first considers the role played by engineers like ...
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This chapter examines the Sellers family's diverse and often lasting impacts on the metropolitan built environment in the late nineteenth century. It first considers the role played by engineers like the Sellers in what would later be known as environmental planning and how their technologies, institutions, and real estate investments converged to establish a new urban order. It then explores how the Sellers, through their pursuit of institutional strategies, helped strengthen Philadelphia as an early center of electrical engineering and allied industry. It also discusses the Sellers's use of emerging theories of urban planning based in social and environmental science to restructure regional land use and concomitant patterns of class, along with their role in the suburbanization of manufacturing and the working class during the period. Finally, it explains how the Sellers's built environment enabled them to guide urban development and compete with the elite of other cities.Less
This chapter examines the Sellers family's diverse and often lasting impacts on the metropolitan built environment in the late nineteenth century. It first considers the role played by engineers like the Sellers in what would later be known as environmental planning and how their technologies, institutions, and real estate investments converged to establish a new urban order. It then explores how the Sellers, through their pursuit of institutional strategies, helped strengthen Philadelphia as an early center of electrical engineering and allied industry. It also discusses the Sellers's use of emerging theories of urban planning based in social and environmental science to restructure regional land use and concomitant patterns of class, along with their role in the suburbanization of manufacturing and the working class during the period. Finally, it explains how the Sellers's built environment enabled them to guide urban development and compete with the elite of other cities.
Lisa I. Iezzoni and Bonnie L. O'Day
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195172768
- eISBN:
- 9780199865710
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195172768.003.0014
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
This chapter addresses the design of health care settings that are accessible to persons with physical and sensory disabilities. It starts by reviewing Americans with Disabilities Act regulations. It ...
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This chapter addresses the design of health care settings that are accessible to persons with physical and sensory disabilities. It starts by reviewing Americans with Disabilities Act regulations. It then discusses a process for designing accessible space, including the involvement of persons with disabilities as partners. The chapter reviews such items as lighting, acoustics, flooring, air quality, heating and cooling, emergency notification alarms, and signage as well as basic questions about the size and configuration of spaces, medical equipment, and furniture. It offers suggestions about accessible equipment, such as weight scales.Less
This chapter addresses the design of health care settings that are accessible to persons with physical and sensory disabilities. It starts by reviewing Americans with Disabilities Act regulations. It then discusses a process for designing accessible space, including the involvement of persons with disabilities as partners. The chapter reviews such items as lighting, acoustics, flooring, air quality, heating and cooling, emergency notification alarms, and signage as well as basic questions about the size and configuration of spaces, medical equipment, and furniture. It offers suggestions about accessible equipment, such as weight scales.
Steven Vogel
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262029100
- eISBN:
- 9780262326988
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262029100.001.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
Environmental theory would be better off if it eschewed the concept of “nature” entirely. The concept is too ambiguous and potentially politically dangerous, while as McKibben and others have argued, ...
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Environmental theory would be better off if it eschewed the concept of “nature” entirely. The concept is too ambiguous and potentially politically dangerous, while as McKibben and others have argued, if “nature” means a world independent of human action it may no longer exist – and even if it did that’s not where environmental problems arise. The world that actually “environs” us is always a built one, and is “socially constructed” in the sense that humans literally construct it in their practices. We are not alienated from nature but rather from that (built) environment, in that we do not recognize, or take responsibility for, its builtness. “Thinking like a mall” means recognizing that the distinction between the “natural” and the “artificial” is untenable: artifacts are as material, and so as independent of humans, as anything else. Environmental questions are political questions, about what sort of environment we want to build: “nature” can’t answer them, only those beings capable of engaging in democratic political discourse can. But under capitalism such discourse is virtually impossible, and instead individuals can only engage in private market transactions with each other that when aggregated produce harmful “externalities” that no one intends. This is the source of environmental problems. Only by choosing our practices not as individuals but as democratically a community could such problems be overcome.Less
Environmental theory would be better off if it eschewed the concept of “nature” entirely. The concept is too ambiguous and potentially politically dangerous, while as McKibben and others have argued, if “nature” means a world independent of human action it may no longer exist – and even if it did that’s not where environmental problems arise. The world that actually “environs” us is always a built one, and is “socially constructed” in the sense that humans literally construct it in their practices. We are not alienated from nature but rather from that (built) environment, in that we do not recognize, or take responsibility for, its builtness. “Thinking like a mall” means recognizing that the distinction between the “natural” and the “artificial” is untenable: artifacts are as material, and so as independent of humans, as anything else. Environmental questions are political questions, about what sort of environment we want to build: “nature” can’t answer them, only those beings capable of engaging in democratic political discourse can. But under capitalism such discourse is virtually impossible, and instead individuals can only engage in private market transactions with each other that when aggregated produce harmful “externalities” that no one intends. This is the source of environmental problems. Only by choosing our practices not as individuals but as democratically a community could such problems be overcome.
Tee L. Guidotti
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199325337
- eISBN:
- 9780190238803
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199325337.003.0009
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Epidemiology
Artificial ecosystems have some characteristics of natural ecosystems but are created and maintained by human beings. Artificial ecosystems are much simpler than natural ecosystems and are by far the ...
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Artificial ecosystems have some characteristics of natural ecosystems but are created and maintained by human beings. Artificial ecosystems are much simpler than natural ecosystems and are by far the most familiar surroundings in human experience. “Cultural landscapes” are large-scale ecosystems that have been modified by human beings. Agriculture is an artificial ecosystem essential to sustain the human population. Urban ecosystems are usually hybrid ecosystems that combine artificial and natural elements on a regional scale. The term “built environment” covers anything constructed by humans. Buildings exist to protect people, but some buildings are associated with health risks; the major risks have long been recognized and are governed by building codes. Office buildings are sometimes associated with health problems, usually in the form of a particular set of nonspecific symptoms featuring mucosal irritation and fatigue (called the “sick building syndrome”). Houses also have a variety of health and injury hazards.Less
Artificial ecosystems have some characteristics of natural ecosystems but are created and maintained by human beings. Artificial ecosystems are much simpler than natural ecosystems and are by far the most familiar surroundings in human experience. “Cultural landscapes” are large-scale ecosystems that have been modified by human beings. Agriculture is an artificial ecosystem essential to sustain the human population. Urban ecosystems are usually hybrid ecosystems that combine artificial and natural elements on a regional scale. The term “built environment” covers anything constructed by humans. Buildings exist to protect people, but some buildings are associated with health risks; the major risks have long been recognized and are governed by building codes. Office buildings are sometimes associated with health problems, usually in the form of a particular set of nonspecific symptoms featuring mucosal irritation and fatigue (called the “sick building syndrome”). Houses also have a variety of health and injury hazards.
