ONE STEP FORWARD

INTRODUCTION

An active neighborhood, sometimes referred to as healthy neighborhoods, inspire residents to adopt healthy lifestyles. Which includes taking part in activities that promote physical activity. Living in a nice, orderly, and attentive neighborhood is also necessary, as is taking part in neighborhood events, breathing clean air, and interacting with neighbors.

FIGURE 01: HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT CYCLE

FROM THEORY TO APPLICATION

The most recent book that I read, Healthy Placemaking, is organized around six guiding concepts.

These are listed in the following order:

1. Walkable communities
2. Urban planning
3. The fundamentals of the neighborhood
4. Networks of movements
5. Integrating the environment
6. Empowerment of communities

                              FIGURE 02: SIX PRINCIPELS OF HEALTHY PLACEMAKING

1. WALKABLE COMMUNITIES:

Living close to important daily destinations has several advantages like maintain physical health, less pollution etc… these destinations include the grocery store, doctor’s office, school, and work. Furthermore, it entails residing close to social hubs, such as eateries and open areas for recreation and leisure. Compact, mixed-use urban fabric characterizes walkable areas because they have plenty of open space and convenient walking access to everyday necessities.

2. URBAN PLANNING:

Residents in lower-density neighborhoods expect to drive to the urban center on their own. Poor air quality and motor vehicle use can harm health for the same reason cause dementia and respiratory problems. Also, this lowers business productivity by discouraging physical exercise and increasing traffic.

Need to set thresholds that make it easier to deploy active travel choices in cities. This is important for addressing these issues. This will encourage healthy forms of transportation and help rebalance mobility.

3. BUILDING BLOCKS FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD:

Good neighborhood design has the greatest potential for creating human-scale, healing environments. It also establishes spatial frameworks. These reduce social isolation and promote a sense of community. Reducing planning scale creates intimate urban spaces and smaller physical forms.

The best residential layouts place houses next to well-lit public streets. Trees shade the streets and parked autos. These locations need to be safe and offer practical social facilities. They also need to be free of noise and traffic pollution, and promote social gatherings.

4. NETWORKS OF MOVEMENTS:

The drawbacks of driving in urban areas are numerous and include sedentary lifestyles, lack of exercise, air pollution, monopolization of space (whether parked or in motion), speeding and accidents, toxic particulate matter, obstructing public transportation, and those who see other road users as second-class citizens and assert the dominance of their cars.

5. INTEGRATION WITH THE ENVIRONMENT:

Neuroscientific studies have connected the parts of the brain that produce our happy reaction to greenery to reduced stress and increased wellbeing. Cities like Vienna, Zürich, and Singapore, for instance, have structured their urban areas to strike a sustainable balance between developed and natural areas. They did this by replacing low-density structures with taller blocks, which has increased the number of dwellings while preserving the quantity of open space.

6. EMPOWERING THE COMMUNITY:

People become involved in their communities when they see a chance to improve their surroundings. These places can promote civic pride. They have excellent results. The local community contributes.

CHANGES THAT CAN MAKE NEIHBOURHOOD HEALTIER

It is crucial to give a room’s measurements and size considerable thought. This creates a welcoming, secure, and comfortable atmosphere for visitors, in fact putting in a few front gardens along the road is a great way to make places where people may stay. It’s critical that individuals of all ages are able to interact in these areas. The majority of users on the route are foot traffic, therefore they should be able to safely stroll, skate, or ride a bicycle anywhere in the vicinity.

Before investing in costly technology and design solutions, one must consider landscaping. This is necessary to control microclimates. For instance, Perennial trees die back in winter, means they give shade in summer and sunlight in winter.

                FIGURE 03: Climbing wall bin refuge in Trent Basin, Nottingham. Laura Alavarez

Intelligent waste management needs to be a top priority from the start, which includes finding ways to combine garbage collection, storage, and disposal.

Every local gathering place ought to be planned to accommodate a variety of neighborhood and community activities. The place should be walkable from residences evidently spaces should have a purpose and meaning. Also, they should enhance the quality of life for the local wildlife and people.

CONCLUSION

To conclude contrary to popular belief, being happy and healthy is simpler. All we have to do is recall what it is to be human, sometimes we exchange meals, visit well-known locations, and feel a feeling of belonging. We need to be able to navigate our environment and recognize the different seasons.