Does good city planning affect your health?

According to an increasing body of research a well planned city can have a direct effect on your health.   Issues such as water quality, air quality, mental health, social capital, physical activity, food security, and housing are all issues which are affected by good and efficient urban planning. For instance, if we build walkable cities it decreases emissions from cars and makes us walk more. Encouraging physical activity by building less car centric developments, preventing sprawl, and increasing density are ways to build healthier communities.  Ensuring that cities have green spaces for recreational activities helps with both physical and mental well being of its citizens.  Let's not just give lip service to citizen health but make it a starting point from which all planning starts.This would mean making choices about how we let our city develop. What opportunities do we have here in Cranbrook to shape our community in a way which improves our health? Why are we allowing sprawl instead of looking into higher density mixed residential and business developments? Let Cranbrook become a leader in what is possible. Let's not look back but let's look forward towards a healthier and better place to live.
To read more about urban planning and health go here http://www.designforhealth.net/resources/generalhealthissues.html