ABSTRACT

There is a growing body of knowledge revealing a sweeping array of connections between public health and green infrastructure – but not until now have the links between them been brought together in one comprehensive book. Green Infrastructure and Public Health provides an overview of current research and theories of the ecological relationships and mechanisms by which the environment influences human health and health behaviour.

Covering a broad spectrum of contemporary understanding, Coutts outlines:

    • public health models that explicitly promote the importance of the environment to health
    • ways in which the quality of the landscape is tied to health
    • challenges of maintaining viable landscapes amidst a rapidly changing global environment

This book presents the case for fundamental human dependence on the natural environment and creates a bridge between contemporary science on the structure and form of a healthy landscape and the myriad ways that a healthy landscape supports healthy human beings. It presents ideal reading for students and practitioners of landscape architecture, urban design, planning, and health studies.

part |77 pages

Connecting green infrastructure and health

chapter |34 pages

The evolution of the ecology of health

ByChristopher Coutts

part |138 pages

The ecosystem services supported by green infrastructure

chapter |28 pages

Essential ecosystem services

ByChristopher Coutts

chapter |29 pages

The challenge of climate change

ByChristopher Coutts

chapter |12 pages

Infectious disease ecology

ByMicah Hahn

chapter |19 pages

Physical activity

ByChristopher Coutts

chapter |34 pages

Mental health

ByChristopher Coutts

chapter |14 pages

Social capital

ByChristopher Coutts

part |15 pages

Cautions and future directions

chapter |5 pages

The threats to health posed by green infrastructure

ByChristopher Coutts

chapter |7 pages

Concluding remarks

ByChristopher Coutts

part |56 pages

Selected cases of the health benefits of planning and implementing green infrastructure

chapter |17 pages

Valencia's Jardín del Turia Park

From natural disaster to valued public health amenity
BySalvador del Saz Salazar

chapter |13 pages

Health and Hamburg's Grünes Netz (Green Network) Plan

ByThomas B. Fischer