People Active and Out in Nature: Roles for Environmental Health Professionals

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other health authorities, it is of great benefit to the overall health of children and adults to be active and to receive regular “doses” of contact with nature. In many cities, the landscape has been transformed into a noisy, dense, and crowded collection of structures, paved areas, industries, and other non-natural features. Living in a city may expose people to a number of health hazards associated with built environment that may result in chronic stress, greater likelihood of unhealthy behaviors, and increased morbidity and mortality. Efforts to increase natural settings and greenspace in communities can provide multiple benefits, including increased physical activity, improved mental health, and lower rates of chronic and acute illness. Other general benefits include mitigation of heat island effect and lowered pollution levels.

Like many activities that comprise community health promotion, the improvement in contact with nature and availability of greenspace requires a multi-disciplinary effort. Environmental health professional and environmental health programs can contribute in many ways. Environmental health provides expertise in evaluating health hazards that may be associated with natural areas, including air, land, and water pollution, vectors, injury hazards, and others. Environmental health may also contribute to the assessment of neighborhoods adjacent to greenspace. Environmental health involvement in community improvement efforts may increase the effectiveness of the efforts and the overall impact.

For one southern city, we will assess a natural area, consisting of urban forested land, in relation to the surrounding community. Environmental health concerns in the community will be assessed to identify potential health impact to the community members for both positive and negative outcomes.

Recommendations will be presented to community members, leaders, and decisionmakers. An action plan for improving the neighborhood will be presented. Environmental health represents value added to the provision of natural areas in cities by reducing the likelihood of health hazards and by increasing the potential benefits.