Safety
Traditional approaches to public safety focus on fire protection, emergency-medical services and law enforcement. In this analysis, safety highlights public-health aspects that directly relate to aspects of the built environment, specifically addressing safety by reducing transportation-related crashes (i.e., reducing crashes between vehicle and vehicle or bike/pedestrian and vehicle), crime and overall violence. Because of its wide range of topics, safety can also be linked to health issues of physical activity, social capital and mental health.
Design for Health (DFH) Materials
- Planning Information Sheet: Considering Safety through Comprehensive Planning and Ordinances (1.82 MB)
- Key Questions Research Summary: Safety (1.48 MB)
- Plan Case Studies
- Image Resources
- Event Presentations
- Topical Planning Guides
- Comprehensive Plan Review Checklists
- Example Plans
Other Resources
- Journals and Journal Articles
- PowerPoint Presentations
- Protocols, Kits and Guides
- Reports and Guidelines
- Web Sites
- Active Living Research: Special Issues
Active Living Research, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has sponsored a number of special journal issues, all available online on its Web site. These include:
- The Role of the Built Environment in Supporting Active Living and Health: A Review of Research Findings (13 MB. It may take a few moments to open.) This presentation from Active Living by Design covers the findings from a variety of researchers. It is divided into three main sections: "What is the built environment?"; "Effects of the built environment on behavior, natural environment, health, and society"; and "Active community environments and their impact on health."
- Active Living Research: Tools and Measures
This Web site provides links to over fifteen urban design and park audit tools, produced by researchers from a variety of institutions, including the University of Minnesota, Harvard School of Public Health, and the University of Western Australia. - Environment and Physical Activity GIS Protocols Manual
Developed in conjunction with the Twin Cities Walking Study, this manual provides protocols for measuring environmental variables associated with walking. It is periodically updated.
- Toolkit for Building Physical Activity into Daily Life
This toolkit was prepared for workshops held in 2004 and 2005 and in this fast moving research field, some materials are outdated. - Design Guidelines for Active Michigan Communities
This document was designed to help Michigan communities integrate active living principles into their plans, policies and programs. It was created as part of Michigan's Promoting Active Communities program, though its ideas can be useful to people and communities outside the state as well. - Sample Pedestrian Plans
A collection of plans from WalkingInfo.org,the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. - Pedestrian Facilities Design Guide.
This Georgia Department of Transportation publication provides guidance regarding the design, construction, and maintenance of pedestrian and streetscape facilities. It provides technical recommendations on things like sidewalk width, trail composition, etc.
- Active Living by Design: Publications
Documents include publications, policy briefs, and research reports that are divided into the following categories: community development; design; land use; parks, trails, and greenways; places and settings; public health; and transportation. - Active Living Research: Citations
This Web page provides links to a wide variety of active living-related research papers. You can view the list for all articles from 2004-05, or view them by category. Categories include, but are not limited to: concepts and models; health behavior; measuring the environment; measuring physical activity; and nutrition. - National Complete Streets Coalition
"Complete Streets" are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and bus riders of all ages and abilities are able to move safely along and across a complete street. This Web site provides a variety of resources and instructions on implementing complete streets policies in your communities. - Prevention and Reduction of Accidental Injury
This evidence-based briefing report from the U.K. Department of Health covers a wide range of injury topics. - Walk to School Day
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, has useful tips on decreasing traffic injuries among children, including its report on National Strategies for Advancing Child Pedestrian Safety. - Crime Prevention Research
This Government of South Australia Web site provides links to a variety of fact sheets related to crime prevention. Topics include Broken Window Theory, Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED), and Displacement Theory, among others. - InformeDesign
InformeDesign is a research and communication tool for designers. Its search engine provides research summaries on many health themes. Each article summary has the following elements: design issue, design criteria, key concepts, research method, limitations, and commentary.
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