{"id":13793,"date":"2023-02-08T10:02:45","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T16:02:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arch.tamu.edu\/?p=13793"},"modified":"2023-04-12T12:56:28","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T17:56:28","slug":"design-as-a-path-to-healthier-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arch.tamu.edu\/news\/2023\/02\/08\/design-as-a-path-to-healthier-living\/","title":{"rendered":"Design as a Path to Healthier Living"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
After World War II, many Americans left the inner city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before the war, just 13 percent of U.S. residents lived in suburbs. In 2010, more than half of all Americans lived there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This migration resulted in many shifts \u2014 not all of them good ones \u2014 of a corresponding magnitude, said Xuemei Zhu, professor of architecture, who studies healthy community design, non-motorized transportation, and public health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe began to see unintended consequences of this kind of urbanism,\u201d said Zhu. \u201cAn hour long or longer work commutes became typical in Houston and other cities. Most suburbs were also designed with car use as a priority, which made them unfriendly for pedestrians and bicyclists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also, most of these subdivisions were zoned in such a way that residences were strictly separated from commercial areas. In other words, in most of these developments, a car is required for a trip, even something as simple as getting a loaf of bread or a bottle of aspirin. Car trips replaced walking or biking as a practical mode of transportation. Researchers found that this situation contributed to the U.S.\u2019 rising rates of obese adults and adolescents, which contributed to rising cases of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, strokes, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Physical activity is a primary factor in three major dimensions of health: physical, mental, and social. The typical postwar U.S. subdivision design had the unintended, yet direct effect of reducing its residents\u2019 physical activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A new research opportunity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Zhu, who studies how urban design can either increase or decrease physical activity, saw a tremendous research opportunity in Mueller, an Austin subdivision that welcomed its first resident in 2007. Mueller\u2019s planners and designers embraced a design that is friendly to pedestrians and bicycles; a place where people could feel comfortable walking from place to place; a subdivision that wasn\u2019t designed predominantly for cars\u2019 needs. She sought to learn whether the subdivision\u2019s design would improve its residents\u2019 health by increasing their physical activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The subdivision\u2019s history began as Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, which opened in<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1930. For the next 69 years, it served as the growing capital city\u2019s air link to Texas\u2019 major cities and beyond. When a new, larger airport opened on Austin\u2019s southeast side, more than 700 acres of real estate less than 5 miles from downtown Austin became available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The development\u2019s planners emphasized what\u2019s known as a mixed-use concept \u2014locating places where people gather, such as parks, retail shops and restaurants, within easy walking distance of single-family homes and apartment buildings to create a walkable community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n