2 studies: Urban sprawl adds pounds, pollution
Residents of King County's less-walkable neighborhoods -- can you say sprawl? -- are more likely to be overweight, a recently completed study concludes.
Another related study has found, perhaps not surprisingly, that people who live and work in those neighborhoods generate more auto-related air pollution, another potential threat to health.
The two studies' findings are summarized in the winter edition of the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Planning Association. The authors, who collaborated in their research, say their work constitutes the most comprehensive look yet at the link between urban-development patterns and human health in a single metropolitan area.
Earlier research has raised the possibility of a connection between sprawl, obesity and other health problems. The King County results suggest "current laws and regulations are producing negative health outcomes," the authors warn.
"None of this is saying suburbia is bad," said Lawrence Frank, an urban-planning professor at the University of British Columbia and co-author of both studies. "It just says these are the relationships you get ... and they should be taken into account."
A top aide to King County Executive Ron Sims said the county already has adopted some changes as a result of the studies and is planning more.
The research isn't likely to end the debate over sprawl and health.
"If you're listing things that impact obesity, neighborhood design would be maybe 10th on my list," said Tim Attebury, King County manager for the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties. "I would put McDonald's and too much TV way in front of neighborhood design."
But Frank and co-author Frank Sallis, a health psychologist at San Diego State University, said the two new studies go beyond previous work in showing that development patterns can have a significant impact on health even when taking into account other variables such as age, income, education and ethnicity.
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2 studies: Urban sprawl adds pounds, pollution
