Steve Mooney, PhD, HIPRC Research Core Associate Director, talked with the Epidemiology Counts Podcast about how our built environment shapes our transportation and pedestrian decisions.
Background info: Our health is very much shaped by the structure of the spaces around us, what we often refer to as our built environment. The concept of the built environment was developed for fields of urban planning and architecture, and includes any aspects of our spaces that influence human activity, from density of homes and buildings, access to transportation options and community spaces, and the streets and sidewalks, or the lack thereof. The built environment is also highly relevant to public health. The structure of spaces around us will impact whether or not we elect to commute by automobile, public transit, or walking or riding a bicycle; it can impact selection of the foods we eat, proximity to health services, and, thereby, has greater impacts on equity, by driving housing prices and access to resources.
Dr. Mooney talk with hosts, Bryan James and Ghassan Hamra. The podcast is available below or you can listen to Epidemiology Counts – Episode 30: The Built Environment: walking and biking here.
Epidemiology Counts is the official podcast of the Society for Epidemiologic Research (SER). Established in 1968, SER is one of the oldest and largest general epidemiology associations in the world. The SERpodcast has been created and curated by a working group of SER members who are leading epidemiologists in the field. Epidemiology Counts falls under the umbrella of the SER Publications Committee.