nature and our public health

NATURE & OUR PUBLIC HEALTH

IGNACIO F. BUNSTER-OSSA, FASLA



River 250 acres

Lakes 285 acres

Meadow 780 acres

Wetland 300 acres

Woodland 215 acres 1,830 acres

Parkland 250 acres

Promenade 20 acres

Parkway 115 acres

2,215 acres



http://www.flickr.com/photos/50872211@N05/

19,000 trees at maturity will

sequester about 380 tons of CO2…

…the equivalent of about

750,000 miles travelled in an

automobile



300 acres of wetland would annually

sequester from 3,000 to 4,000 tons of

CO2.


IGNACIO F. BUNSTER-OSSA, FASLA6



AUTOMOBILES CLAIM MORE THAN 40,000

DEATHS EACH YEAR

IN DALLAS AUTO DEATHS OCCUR

AT A RATE OF 11.35 PER 100,000

POPULATION; ONLY 2.45 PER

100,000 IN SAN FRANCISCO

Source:

Howard Frumkin, Lawrence Frank, Richard Jackson:

―Urban Sprawl and Public Health‖



http://www.flickr.com/photos/combinedmedia/

ABOUT 300,000 PEOPLE DIE PREVENTABLE

DEATHS EACH YEAR AS A RESULT OF BEING

OBESE..

FOR DIABETICS, WALKING JUST 2 HOURS PER

WEEK CAN REDUCE THEIR DEATH RATE BY

40%

Source:





RUNS ON MONEY,

MAKES YOU FAT

RUNS ON FAT,

MAKES YOU

MONEY



http://www.flickr.com/photos/unspecific/193481842/

10% OF THE U.S. POPULATION

SUFFER FROM ASTHMA

ABOUT 64,000 PEOPLE A YEAR DIE

FROM PM EXPOSURE—MORE THAN

DIE FROM AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS.

Source:



http://www.flickr.com/photos/unspecific/193481842/



1,000 acres of potential

redevelopment adjacent to

the Trinity River Corridor



FAR: 0.3

3 Dwellings/Acre

FAR: 3.0

50 Dwellings/Acre



Dallas Urban Lab – UT Austin



1,000 acres…

55% reservation for public

space and services, yields…

450 acres for development, at

FAR 3 yields…

58 million SF of construction,

at $150 / SF, yields…

$8.8 billion

development

value



1,000 acres…




50 du’s / acre yields…

22,500 households, at 2.5

people unit yields,……

56,000

population



1,000 acres…







72,000

population

1,000 acres…







100,000

population



1,000 acres…







65,000

population

As compared to suburban

development, a 100,000 ―in-

town‖ population potentially

means:

•150 millions saved auto

commuter miles (assumes 20% commute

avg 30 daily miles)

•75, 000 less tons of CO2

•2 lives spared from auto-

related deaths

•Less obesity, diabetes and

respiratory ailments



CASTRO VALLEY BOULEVARDSAN FRANCISCO, CA

STREET WIDTH IS A STRONG PREDICTOR OF

AUTOMBILE CRASH RISK—MORE SO THAN CURB

CUTS AND STREET TREES.

24’ WIDE STREETS ARE STATISCALLY SAFER THAT

30’ WIDE STREETS.

Source:





TWICE AS MANY PEOPLE ARE OVERWEIGHT IN

“LOW WALKABLE” NEIGHBORHOODS THAN

THOSE IN “HIGH WALKABLE”

NEIGHBORHOODS

Source:





“COMPLETE SIDEWALKS”



http://www.flickr.com/photos/sitephocus/

21st Avenue and Tibbetts Green Street

bioswale/ rain garden in Portland, Oregon



Greenplan Philadelphia



http://www.flickr.com/photos/sookie/



Vienna House--Friederich Hundertwasser, artist



WHOLE

CITY

DESIGN



• COMMUNITY

DEVELOPMENT

• HOUSING

• TRANSIT

• CIVIC PLACES

• GREEN

INFRASTRUCTURE

WHOLE

CITY

DESIGN

nature and our public health

Health & Medicine